Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel remembered with Long Island community gatherings, a survivor's account 

Liron Hacohen steadied her nerves before an audience of more than 600 people in the auditorium at the Suffolk Y JCC in Commack on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas.

She had reason to be unsettled: She was a survivor of the worst massacre in Israel since its founding, an assault that left 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.

Hacohen, 31, a social worker and an emotional therapist from Israel, said her kibbutz was about two kilometers from the border with Gaza. She lived there with her husband in a neighborhood she said was filled with young families. She recalled being awakened at 6:30 in the morning by sirens.

At first, she wasn’t too worried. "For a moment we thought it was another military operation," she said. It soon became clear it was more, much more.

Amid the gunfire, "We understood that the terrorists had broken into the kibbutz and we needed to hide. We took a ... kitchen knife, a bottle of water, running shoes and locked ourselves in a safe room. While hiding, the power went out and there was more and more gunfire. We understood that the situation was becoming very serious," with people "asking for help, begging for their lives as terrorists [invaded] their home."

Some houses were spared, while others weren’t. Her home was not invaded, she said, but the situation remained fraught.

Hacohen said she and others sent messages to the Israeli military, but they had no way of knowing whether their frantic messages were received. After 22 hours in a safe room without electricity, she said they were rescued by Israeli soldiers. As they were leaving the kibbutz by foot, she said the soldiers asked the survivors not to look left or right. But she did, seeing "burned cars and bodies inside the cars."

As she concluded her harrowing story, she got a standing ovation from the crowd.

It was one of several commemorations on Long Island marking the anniversary of the attack. At the same time, at least one pro-Palestinian protest took place, as students and their supporters held a vigil at Stony Brook University.

Israel’s counterattack after Oct. 7 has killed about 42,000 people in Gaza, according to officials from the Hamas-run Health Ministry there, in a conflict that's threatening to morph into a full-scale regional war. In the last month, Israel's offensive has escalated to include Lebanon and Hamas ally Hezbollah, which has been firing missiles into Israel. Iran, which backs Hamas and Hezbollah, is now also getting directly involved in the conflict.

About 60 hostages are believed to still be alive, and about 35 dead, according to Israeli officials. The rest of the approximately 250 were either released by Hamas, killed and had their bodies returned to Israel, or rescued by Israeli troops. 

On Monday night, more than 1,000 people gathered at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow to show their support of Israel and express hope the hostages will return home.

Hundreds of people waved Israeli flags large and small, while others held electronic candles or wore "never forget" stickers. A few held signs calling for the release of Omer Neutra, a Plainview native who is one of the hostages.

One member of the crowd, Abby Dardashti, a Jewish woman originally from Iran, recalled in an interview how in March she visited Israeli soldiers and aided Israeli farmers on a mission with the nonprofit Jewish National Fund.

"It was heartbreaking to see what we saw," she said. "We helped with the farms, we helped visiting at the hospital ... We did everything that we could because the country was in such shambles."

During the event in Commack, a screen displayed photographs of scores of hostages. A video of Neutra's parents featured them talking about their son’s time on the Island before he went to Israel to volunteer for the army.

An Israeli singer-songwriter, Gilad Segev, sang about the Israelis who died as they sought to help and protect others.

Jonny Daniels, an Israeli activist who formerly served in the army and was chief of staff to members of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, after his military service, told the crowd, "For all of us every day for the last year has been Oct. 7 ... It’s a day that struck us to our core ... But, especially on a day like today, we have to remember who we are as a people.

"We are an incredible people," he added. "We are a nation of survivors. We are a nation who has been through so much ... somehow we come out stronger."

Meanwhile, about 30 people gathered on the Stony Brook University campus Monday for a pro-Palestinian vigil. They contended that while Oct. 7 marked the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, it also marked the start of Israel’s war against Gaza and the death of thousands of civilians.

The demonstrators displayed homemade signs with sayings such as "Israel Bombs, US Citizens Pay," "Fund Doctors, Not Bombs!" and "Justice for Palestine." One painted an umbrella the colors of the Palestinian flag — black, red and green.

They also wrote messages on small pieces of paper and stuck them on a board. Around it they placed yellow and red roses.

Nerissa Balce, as associate professor of Asian American studies who attended the vigil, said it was "a beautiful and meaningful student-led event. This is an expression of our collective grief."

Another supporter, Myrna Gordon, a Port Jefferson resident and a leader of the North Country Peace Group, said she was there to back the students and their cause for justice in Palestine.

The students, she said, were "on the right side of history."

While she called the Oct. 7 massacre "horrific," she said Israel’s response has been disproportionate and is worried that the conflict is spiraling out of control. "I think it’s a horrific escalation and possibly going into a huge global war," she said. "We’ve got to stop funding Israel with weapons."

One student said the vigil gave her hope that the Palestinian point of view is getting more attention.

"I’m proud to see a lot of students here today," sad Electra Bovoli, 19, a sophomore. "It shows people are starting to listen to both perspectives."

Across from the rally, a lone Jewish student stood with an Israeli flag draped around his shoulders.

"It’s sickening what they are doing on today of all days," said Samuel Shpak, 20, a junior. "Even though they have the right to protest ... why today, one of the most deadliest days for the Jews since the Holocaust?"

SUNY Chancellor John King and the SUNY board of trustees on Monday condemned the Oct. 7 violence and pledged to keep all students safe on campuses statewide.

"Today, we solemnly mark the anniversary of Oct. 7, a day when horrific acts of terrorism sent waves of grief throughout Israel and the global community," King said in a statement.

Correction: Omer Neutra of Plainview is one of the hostages in Gaza. An earlier version of this story misspelled his name.