Trauma of Oct 7 will be ‘sustained and heightened’ on anniversary: rabbis

The trauma of the October 7 terrorist attacks is ‘ongoing’ and will only be ‘sustained and heightened’ on the two-year anniversary on Tuesday, Jewish religious leaders say.

Sydney’s The Great Synagogue rabbi Benjamin Elton says Tuesday’s anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel will “reawaken” the trauma for the Jewish community. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers/The Australian

The trauma of the October 7 terrorist attacks is “ongoing” and will only be “sustained and heightened” on the two-year anniversary on Tuesday, Jewish religious leaders say, as US-led negotiations for the future of the Gaza Strip appear to offer the first realistic glimmer of peace.

Various groups – aligned to either side of the conflict – are also arranging for commemorations and protests to mark the anniversary in coming days and weeks. There are fears of a repeat rally at the Sydney Opera House the following weekend.

Ahead of the two-year anniversary, Sydney’s The Great Synagogue rabbi Benjamin Elton said there had not yet been closure after Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, and that trauma would be “reawakened”.

Rabbi Elton, whose home town is Manchester in Britain, where two Jews were killed outside a synagogue last week, said it was not just October 7 that “shattered the Jewish community” but anti-Semitic incidents around the world since the Israel-Hamas war had started.

“We hope that this will be the last anniversary in which the situation is so appalling, and we can look forward to better, more peaceful times ahead,” he said.

“My community, I think all Jewish communities, are ardently, fervently praying for peace.

“We are praying that Hamas will accept the deal that’s on the table, which ends hostilities in Gaza, which sees the hostages and the bodies of hostages coming home.

“That’s what we all want. We want peace in the Middle East, we want peace around the world.”

The Central Synagogue’s rabbi Levi Wolff said ahead of the two-year anniversary that “time does not heal wounds” in this situation as the “anguish at the thought of what those hostages are enduring only deepens with each passing day”.

“This is an anniversary of horror,” Rabbi Wolff said.

“Our trauma is compounded by the staggering rise of anti-Semitism around the world, and particularly here in Australia.

“At a time when we need the support of our leaders most, we are confronted with open displays of Jew-hatred in our city, on our beaches, across our Harbour Bridge, and now once again, at the Sydney Opera House. It is heartbreaking.

“Still, we remain full of hope and prayer that President Trump and his team will succeed in working miracles: to free our hostages, to free the Palestinian people from brutal dictators, and to bring a peaceful solution to this war.

“I do not personally have much faith in promises made by Hamas, but it is encouraging that other players across the region and the broader Muslim world are engaging with the peace plan.

“Most importantly, we have complete confidence that Israel’s most faithful ally, the United States, will do whatever it takes to bring this nightmare to an end.”