In an effort to support Wake Forest students as they navigate the violence and political unrest in Israel and Gaza, students from Jewish student organizations Hillel and Chabad held a candlelight vigil on Manchester Plaza on Oct. 10.
“We’re talking about coming together in unity and solidarity supporting the Jewish students and the community of this school and every other single person affected by this,” said President of Chabad Chloe Mazo. “Every single one of us has a friend or family or some kind of tie to Israel regardless of whether we are Jewish or not.”
Dozens of students and administrators gathered on the lower quad on Monday evening to hear from Jewish leaders at Wake Forest. The event, which was open to all members of the Wake Forest community, was held in response to Hamas’ — a Palestinian militant group based in Gaza — surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.
At least 1,200 Israelis have been killed, and Hamas fighters have taken at least 150 Israelis hostage. In addition to the climbing number of deaths in Israel, at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed. In response to the surprise attack, Israel carried out airstrikes to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that Israel and Egypt have blockaded for the past 16 years. In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has ordered that no food, electricity or fuel be sent to Gaza.
“I’m thinking of the man who made my favorite sandwich at the market every Friday morning,” said Wake Forest’s Hillel International Israel Intern Ella Sadikman during the vigil. “And of the people who I sat next to in coffee shops. I’m thinking of my Israeli friends who were called to defend their people and are risking their lives right now.”
Sadikman continued: “And I’m thinking of my American friends who are gathering across the country to grieve and support each other. And I’m thinking of our community, which is full of strength and compassion, in spite of the heartbreak that all of us are feeling.”
Mazo expressed her gratitude for the community members who attended the vigil. To her surprise, the number of attendees exceeded the organizers’ candle supply and her team had to quickly retrieve more to give out to the crowd.
“I’m just amazed, and I just have no words to describe how I feel,” Mazo said. “And I’m glad that so many Jewish and non-Jewish people came to support. It really means a lot, and I appreciate it so much.”
Mazo and President of Hillel Eliana Horowitz led the event, welcoming attendees and introducing speakers. Mazo opened the ceremony by inviting attendees to light candles and hold them for the duration of the vigil. Senior Austin Margol and Sophomore Polina Sheyner read passages from Psalms and Alpha Epsilon Pi President Cameron Goloub read a prayer for those in captivity. Sadikman led attendees in singing the Shema — a central prayer to Judaism.
Hillel and Jewish Agency Israel Fellow Amit Melchior read a prayer in both Hebrew and English for members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Junior Will Treiman, who has a close friend serving in the IDF, expressed gratitude for Melchior’s participation as an IDF veteran.
“Everything had a good purpose, especially having Amit up there,” Treiman said. “I’m sure this is even harder on him than it is on all of us.”
Chabad Rabbi Levi Gurevitz offered closing remarks on kindness and peace. He invited attendees to write prayers and words of kindness and support on Post-it notes and place them on a small board.
“What can we do for our people, for our brothers and sisters?” Gurevitz said. “What can we do to make this world a more peaceful place? As Jews, we believe that every action we do creates life. Since we are united as one, when we do more good [and] more kindness, that doesn’t just affect the people here.”
Sophomore Ben Esser told the Old Gold & Black that he has a good friend serving in the IDF who is currently missing. Esser explained that he has spent the last few days checking news organizations and connecting with friends and family to find out how they can help their friend, who has dual citizenship in the United States and Israel.
“It’s been hard to focus on other things,” Esser said.
After the vigil, Esser spoke about the overwhelming support he received from attendees and members of his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi. He said that many of his non-Jewish friends attended the vigil in support of the Jewish community at Wake Forest.
“I was just grateful to see everyone coming together on this in support,” Esser said. “[Rabbi Levi] spoke about a lot of loneliness, especially here where it is not a super Jewish area. This has been a big departure from that.”
Alongside expressing gratitude for the overwhelming support from students, Mazo and Sadikman explained that after Mazo met with university administrators as a representative of Jewish students who wanted to hold the vigil, campus leaders helped students organize the event.
According to Mazo, these administrators include University Chaplain Timothy Auman, Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life Gail Bretan, Interim Dean of Students Matthew Clifford, Vice President for Campus Life Shea Kidd Brown, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion José Villalba and Associate Dean for Student Engagement Tim Wilkinson.
“As faith leaders, we condemn violence in all its forms and are committed to engaging the full legacies and histories of oppression that continue to shape this devastating conflict,” said Auman in a statement to the Old Gold & Black. “We invite students, faculty and staff to join with us in solidarity as we explore the depths of this tragedy and to commit to reconciling the cost of occupation and of war. We pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. We pray for Muslim and Jewish members of our Wake Forest family who are acutely experiencing the deep pain of this long and traumatic strife.”
Margol, who is on the board of Chabad, echoed Auman and expressed sympathy for Palestinians affected by the war.
“My heart goes out to Palestinian people and civilians the same as my heart goes out to my brothers and sisters who are Israelis,” said Margol.
Mazo said that after Fall Break — which takes place from Oct. 12 to Oct. 15 — she will meet with Auman to discuss next steps.
“This situation’s only going to get worse, and it’s not ending today, and it’s not ending tomorrow,” Mazo said. “This is going to be a situation that lasts weeks, maybe even months about what more as a school we can do.”
Trish Hill • Oct 17, 2023 at 6:23 pm
And this:
“As faith leaders, we condemn violence in all its forms and are committed to engaging the full legacies and histories of oppression that continue to shape this devastating conflict,”
Timothy Auman – Wake Chaplain
Debbie Cohen • Oct 12, 2023 at 11:51 pm
The candle light vigil sounds like it was a beautiful event. I am grateful that the students had a place to come together in unity and peace. I am disappointed, however that Hammas was not called out as a terrorist organization in this article. They are not fighting for Palestinians or peace. Their mission is to kill Jews and obliterate Israel. That’s it. Nothing about Palestine or peace. Just heinous terror. My other rather significant disappointment is that President Wente did not attend. This is a time to come together. The community needs its leaders to be seen and heard. Her absence was loud and clear.
A friend of pluralism • Oct 15, 2024 at 10:26 pm
If Hamas is a terrorist organization, Israel is a terrorist nation. If Hamas is not a terrorist organization, Israel is still a terrorist nation and needs to go the way of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russians did not die because of that and Jews don’t need to die. The world needs to admit that Zionism is a failure and has just been too costly and needs to cease to exist —at least cease to exist in Palestine where it was born in 1948 from terrorist parents like Menachem Begin and Ben Gurion. But long live Jews. They need to find another God instead of America. Perhaps Texas or Utah or Arizona or New Mexico will sell off 10,000 square miles for a new state. Or maybe Kamala will offer narcissist Netanyahu some of California for a new Jewish state. She has no problem giving away what isn’t hers to give, just like god Gavin.