More than 500 Jewish University of Wisconsin-Madison students and community members held a vigil on Library Mall Monday night, mourning the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and finding solidarity after a year of extraordinary challenges.
The Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack killed over 1200 Israelis, with more than 150 kidnapped, and resulted in an escalation of the ongoing war in Gaza.
For Jewish students on the UW-Madison campus, the attack and perceived indifference toward the victims led to feelings of isolation and loneliness, though many found comfort in community and organizations such as Hillel and Chabad.
Many speakers talked about the importance of finding Jewish community on campus amid the ongoing war. Before and during the vigil, many students hugged and embraced.
“Seeing the Jewish community show up time and time again is the most beautiful, heartwarming thing that I can imagine,” UW-Madison sophomore Ezra Rosenthal told The Daily Cardinal.
Twenty students set up and led the event, said UW-Madison Hillel CEO and President Greg Steinberger, with planning beginning in August.
“This happens at all sorts of things, be it spiritual, going to concerts, there’s a cathartic nature of having that shared, bonded experience,” Steinberger told the Cardinal.
Before the vigil, students working the event handed out Israeli flags, yellow ribbons and dog tags. Rosenthal said the dog tags were worn by the many Israelis killed at the Nova Festival last year, and they symbolize Israeli pride in a way “that’s not a Jewish symbol.” The tags said “Bring them home now” in English and Hebrew.
Steinberger noted many students were concerned about security at the event, which had upwards of 500 people, according to University of Wisconsin Police Department communications director Marc Lovicott.
There were roughly 10 police officers present, along with a police dog and a drone overhead. Lovicott told the Cardinal the event was “very peaceful and respectful,” with no incidents reported.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) also held a protest on Bascom hill Monday morning as part of their “week of rage.” The group is hosting protests and events each day from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11 to voice opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and Lebanon, which has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the UN.
Steinberger described the past year as “a year with extraordinarily high antisemitism” and said “there’s an echo to another time where Jews are also ‘other.’”
In November, a neo-Nazi group marched up State Street, waving swastikas and chanting anti semitic slogans. Antisemitic chalking was also found at the Dane County Farmers Market last spring.
Rachel Nasatir, a UW-Madison senior and member of the Chabad Leadership, said she heard “globalize intifada” and “go back to Poland”, yelled at Jewish students on campus, which she calls “inherently antisemitic.”
Junior Maya Stagman addressed the crowd about her experience last Oct. 7, hurting for her Jewish community and family in Israel, including her cousin in the Israeli Defense Force.
“Today, I stand before you as passionate as ever to keep our community strong and united, praying to bring our hostages home,” Stagman said. “To some extent, everyone was affected by the tragedy of Oct. 7, and the controversial fallout after that horrible day. But despite all of the pain we carry, our love, strength and sense of community is even more powerful.”
Chabad Rabbi Mendel Matusof compared Oct. 7 to Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, in his speech.
“Yom Hashoah is remembered through the silence,” he said. “Oct. 7 is remembered through the thundering cry from all of us.”
After Rabbi Mendel came Hillel Rabbi Judy Greenberg, who led the crowd in a moment of silence and recited a funeral prayer called the Mourner’s Kaddish.
While the Cardinal was talking with President Steinberger, a non-Jewish student came up and shook Steinberger’s hand. He remarked how he lost a friend who was at the Nova festival and thanked Steinberger for helping set up the event.
“I think we all want a better year. There's a baseline of we all need a better year. And for humanity, we need a better year.” Steinberger told the Cardinal. “I'm optimistic, but it's not easy.”
The vigil closed with the Israeli national anthem and “One Day” by Matisyahu.
Bryna Goeking is an arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She also reports on campus news. Follow her on Twitter @BrynaGoeking.
