In Newton, a Sunday gathering marks one year since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel

Members of Boston’s Jewish community gathered Sunday in a small park in Newton Centre, same as they have for most Sundays in the last year. They were there to mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel and call for the release of those still held in captivity.

“I want everyone here to think of who you were on October 6, 2023. What changed in that year? Did you find your voice? Did you stand up against antisemitism? Did you stand up for Israel? Did you do speak for the hostages who have no voice?” asked Emily Brophy.

Brophy lives in Roxbury. She said she's been coming to this weekly gathering each Sunday since January.

“I mean I felt lonely from the day Oct. 7 happened. I had no group, I had no community. And I would say probably in December, I was on instagram, and I went by a reel by Rachel Goldberg – Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s mother. And she said, ‘We keep getting messages on how we can help. What can we do, how can we help?’ ”

Goldberg-Polin was among the six dead Hamas-held hostages whose bodies were recovered in Gaza last month.

Brophy is now an organizer of the Boston chapter of ‘Run For Their Lives,’ which organized a vigil last month for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, attended by more than 100 people.

Behzad Dayanim led the crowd in singing a traditional Jewish prayer ‘Acheinu,’ as an expression of solidarity with the captives.

“In situations like this you feel helpless. Because what can you do? You can't go over there and change things. So these are the kinds of things we can do. You know, is try to raise that awareness. Try to help people feel like a community,” said Behzad Dayanim.

He said his daughter knew Hersh Goldberg-Polin personally.

“My daughter had gone on a program over the summer and he was a counselor on the program. She got very close with him,” Dayanim said.

More than 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7. According to Gaza health officials, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict as Israel sends troops into Gaza, the West Bank and most recently southern Lebanon.

No formal acknowledgments were made about the tens of thousands of Palestinian lives lives lost as a consequence of Israel's war in Gaza. Following the event, Dayanim said “no one wants innocent people to be hurt or lose their lives."

"I think that we all want to see this end," he said. "And we also recognize that if it doesn’t start with the hostages being released or returned, whether they are alive or no longer alive, there’s no way to reach that kind of pivotal change.”