Hundreds of people attended a vigil Monday evening to observe the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

The attacks on Israel by Hamas – a militant group and Palestinian political party – killed at least 1,200 Israelis and led to nearly 250 hostages captured, according to ABC News. Participants in the vigil walked around 6:00 p.m. from Hillel at UCLA on Hilgard Avenue to Bruin Plaza in silence, recognizing those who died or were taken captive.

Organizations across UCLA, including Hillel at UCLA, Bruins for Israel, Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Bruins for Israel Public Affairs Committee, Students Supporting Israel at UCLA, Chabad at UCLA and the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA organized the event. Once the participants arrived at Bruin Plaza, organizers handed out posters of hostages taken in the attack and their stories as well as yellow roses to memorialize them.

The event included speeches from students, the recitation of prayers and the singing of the Hatikvah – Israel’s national anthem. The evening concluded with the blowing of the shofar, a sacred horn in Judaism, and a dance circle to Israeli music.

Dan Gold, the executive director of Hillel at UCLA, said the event was intended to bring the community together to remember the victims of the attacks.

“The fact that all these groups came together and are working together is really a sign of a united and a strong community,” he said.

The vigil began with a speech from Eli Tsives, a second-year political science student and pro-Israel activist. In his speech, Tsives said Jewish students should be “unapologetically proud of who we are,” adding that instead of feeling angry about the attack, members of the community should focus on uplifting each other.

“Today is not about rage or division,” Tsives said. “Today we honor our community. We hold our loved ones a little tighter. We pray, we uplift, and we stand unabashedly who we are.”

The vigil was interspersed with prayers and speeches from students talking about their personal connections to Israel.

Joshua Oulashian, a speaker at the vigil, spoke about his experience studying abroad at Jerusalem University College in Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“I heard the rocket sirens blaring overhead,” he said. “As we ran from my dorm room to the bomb shelter, I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet and dust sprinkling down.”

Upon his return to UCLA, Oulashian said he was welcomed by the Jewish community, adding that he believes there are other students on campus who stand with the Jewish community, even though it sometimes may not feel like it.

Jonathan Levi, a third-year mathematics of computation student who participated in the march, said he feels there is no reason for Jewish and Israeli students to feel ashamed of their religion and ethnicity.

“I hope all the Jews and the Israelis on campus will be able to feel safe,” he said. “I hope that they see that they have a community, and they’re not alone.”

Organizers of the vigil hired private security – separate from that hired by UCLA – for the event. Gold said this was done to provide students with extra safety, adding that he feels there is not enough security on campus for Jewish students. He also said the security helped ensure the event did not get interrupted by others.

“At the vigil itself, we need to make sure we have enough security to ensure that other groups will follow time, place and manner rules,” Gold said.

Sam G., a student who asked to remain partially anonymous for their safety, said the vigil was particularly important to have at UCLA because college campuses are a hub for cultural and current events. They added that college is a time for people to reflect on their values, adding that while they disagree with pro-Palestine groups, they have respect for their desire to share their beliefs.

“I disagree very strongly with Students for Justice in Palestine, but I can respect that they are using college as a time to reflect on who they want to be, explore their ideas and put it out there,” Sam said.

Gal Cohavy, a third-year linguistics and computer science student, said he attended the march to gain more clarity and community after losing distant relatives during last year’s attack. He said he sees his connection to Israel as a part of his Jewish identity, adding that he sees the event as a way to address the events happening in Israel while in a space with others like him.

Rabbi Dovid Gurevich, the director of the Chabad at UCLA, said though UCLA is not an exception to the college campus protests seen across the country last spring, he believes those participating in the vigil must remain strong.

“Stay strong and positive, even though there are difficulties and challenges to that,” Gurevich said. “It’s very important to maintain a positive frame of mind and to be unafraid.”