About 250 University of Michigan students and community members gathered on the Diag Tuesday evening for a vigil honoring the lives of six Israeli hostages recently killed by Hamas.
The six hostages — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Ori Danino and Almog Sarusi — were among the 251 total taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. According to the Israeli government, approximately 60 living hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of 37 people killed by Hamas in its initial attack. Since Oct. 7, 117 hostages have been freed.
The vigil was organized by Wolverine for Israel, the U-M chapter of J Street U, the Jewish Resource Center, the Chabad House of Ann Arbor and Michigan Hillel. It featured speakers from all five organizations, with a combination of remarks and prayers in both English and Hebrew.
The six hostages were killed shortly before their bodies were found, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health. In a speech opening the event, LSA senior Evan Cohen, president of Wolverine for Israel, said the purpose of the vigil was to honor their lives and call for the safe return of those still being held by Hamas.
“These six former hostages were all murdered by Hamas less than 48 hours before being found,” Cohen said. “Each one represented a light in the depth of darkness. We’re here to mourn the losses of these bright lights and to cherish their wonderful lives. To the remaining hostages: Be strong. Survive.”
The discovery of the hostages’ bodies on Sunday sparked outrage across Israel, with protesters blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unwillingness to accept a cease-fire deal for their deaths. In a speech at the event, LSA senior Ryan Silberfein, president of Michigan Hillel, said she hopes those in power can reach an agreement to bring peace to the region to prevent any more loss of life.
“We continue to hope, pray and do the work that we can so that other innocent civilians, no matter their religion or nationality, do not face the same thing,” Silberfein said. “We wish for an end to this war and peace in the region, and we understand how difficult this weekend and the past year in general have been for everyone.”
Almost 1,200 people were killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, sparking an Israeli military response that Netanyahu says will not end until they reach “total victory” over Hamas. The military campaign has stoked divisions on college campuses across the country, including at the University. Since Oct. 7, the U-M campus has seen dozens of protests, including a solidarity encampment that lasted for approximately a month before being cleared by the police. The University has also proposed and enacted multiple policy changes in response to increased campus unrest, including recently amending the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities to allow the University to act as a complainant against individual students for alleged non-academic misconduct.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 40,000 people have been killed by Israeli military violence in Gaza since the war began. The military campaign has also displaced almost two million people in Gaza and resulted in widespread shortages of food, water and medical care.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily at the vigil, a member of the U-M chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, criticized the vigil for not bringing attention to the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed in Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. They said the views expressed at the event did not represent those of the entire Jewish community on campus.
“While organizations like Hillel and Wolverine for Israel hold their vigils, they neglect to mention the hundreds of thousands of starving people in Gaza, the tens of thousands in Israeli detention centers and all the children who are on the precipice of death,” the student said. “These organizations do not represent the Jewish community. There are countless Jews on this campus who will proudly stand for Palestinian liberation.”
In an interview with The Daily after the event, LSA senior Josh Brown, director of activism for Wolverine for Israel, emphasized that the groups who organized the event want to offer support to Jewish students on campus.
“The Jewish community is here to support anyone in need and Chabad, Hillel and JRC are all available,” Brown said. “Reach out if you need support. We’re here supporting each other and do not be afraid to reach out and talk.”
Daily News Editor Mary Corey can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu.
The post ‘Each one represented a light in the depth of darkness’: Diag vigil honors 6 Israeli hostages killed by Hamas appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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