Caroline Ortemond

Hillel, Israel Campus Coalition and Tulane University For Israeli Culture hosted a survivor of the October 7 attacks to come and speak about her experience and resiliency on Oct. 8 this year.

Tulane University Jewish organizations commemorated the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 with a vigil on Monday, two years after Hamas killed an estimated 1,200 Israeli citizens in a coordinated attack. Groups hosted the vigil in McAlister Auditorium amid a fragile ceasefire and the release of all living Israeli hostages. 

“One in four undergraduates [at Tulane] self-identify as Jewish,” Gary Brandt, executive director of Tulane Hillel, said. “Particularly, a Jewish person’s affiliation or association or connection to Israel is incredibly diverse, both in terms of depth and breadth.”

Student leaders of Jewish clubs and organizations came together with Tulane Hillel in August to plan ways to commemorate and show solidarity in response to the events of October 7. Since this year’s anniversary coincided with a Jewish holiday, Sukkot, the groups organized multiple events to honor the day.

An installation in Pocket Park earlier this month honored the 48 remaining hostages — those who are still alive have since been returned to Israel — with a chair for each hostage. Hillel, Israel Campus Coalition and Tulane University For Israeli Culture also hosted a survivor of the October 7 attacks to come and speak about her experience and resiliency on Oct. 8 this year. 

“A group of students decided they wanted to create a moment for people in the campus community to walk up and ask curious questions,” Brandt said. “A lot of the students that joined that branch of October 7 commemorations have connections either with their family or friends to current hostages or deceased hostages, so there was also a personal touch for them.”

Hillel, Chabad at Tulane, TUFIC, Students Supporting Israel Tulane and Jewish on Campus at Tulane University planned the vigil, which brought together students, many of whom wore white, in commemoration of the lives lost since the war. 

“Hope for bridge building … hope for Jewish communities to come together to mend and heal and hope for us as a Jewish community center and for Jewish leaders that they continue to feel inspired and empowered to stand up for themselves,” Brandt said.

The vigil in McAlister had speakers from a survivor of the attacks, Shye Klein, and two students who shared their personal connections.

“It’s a space for students to come together and commemorate, especially since a lot of Tulane students have connections to people who were in the attacks and have a space for people to memorialize that,” senior Noa Arad, president of TUFIC, said.

“I went to the vigil because it’s really important to not only honor those who we lost, but keep remembering the strength the Jewish people have as a community,” freshman Lyla Sachs said.

Brandt said that Tulane Hillel’s sense of community is rooted in its inclusive approach.

“The climate here amongst the Jewish community is not just positive, but it’s thriving,” Brandt said. “This is a safe haven and a lot of people see it that way, and we’re proud to be the fabric of that.”

“Radical inclusivity is part of our value system,” Brandt said. “In a world that’s becoming increasingly polarized in rhetoric and discourse happening online, we’re about people coming together over a meal … We’re here to make sure people are connected.”

Editor’s note: A previously published version of this article mistakenly stated in the headline that the October 7 attack occurred three years ago, instead of two.