Harvard Hillel, Chabad Organize Vigil To Mourn 6 Hostages Killed in Gaza

Roughly 200 Harvard affiliates attended a vigil on Sunday to mourn the lives of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza and to demand the return of all the remaining hostages held captive by Hamas.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli authorities said the hostages had been killed by Hamas militants just days before their bodies were recovered. One of the hostages who was found dead in Gaza, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was a dual Israeli American citizen.

Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad — the University’s two Jewish centers — jointly organized the vigil, which was held at Science Center Plaza. Attendees held candles, posters displaying the names and faces of kidnapped hostages, and Israeli and American flags.

The other five hostages whose bodies were recovered by the Israeli military on Saturday were Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi. Around 250 people were taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Israeli authorities estimate that more than 100 hostages remain in captivity, including more than 30 who are thought to be dead.

“Our hope with this vigil is that we don't have to feel so alone — the fact that we’re able to stand together, to lean on each other, to cry on each other's shoulders,” Hillel Campus Rabbi Getzel Davis said in an interview following the event.

For many Jewish affiliates in attendance, the vigil was their first event at Hillel or Chabad since returning to campus after summer break.

“It’s sad that these are the circumstances that bring us together for the first time as we launch a new academic year,” said Harvard Chabad President Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi.

And for some freshmen students, the vigil marked their introduction to Jewish organizations at Harvard.

“​​I wasn’t happy or excited that this was the first event that I was attending,” said Abraham N. Kohl ’28, who said that he was studying abroad in Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The vigil was attended by a range of Harvard affiliates, including undergraduates, graduate students, and local Cambridge residents. Dean of Students Thomas Dunne also attended the event, but did not deliver any remarks.

The Sunday vigil was attended by roughly 200 Harvard affiliates. Many attendees carried Israeli and American flags as well as posters with information about hostages still in captivity. By Jack R. Trapanick

Though tens of thousands of Israeli citizens took to the streets on Sunday to demand Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to a ceasefire with Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages, the speakers at the vigil at Harvard largely veered away from discussions of Netanyahu and the protests.

Instead, the sharpest criticisms voiced by attendees at the event were directed toward journalists and other groups at Harvard that did not participate in the vigil.

“Some of you, one day, will go on to be journalists,” Zarchi said. “Please don’t be like the shameful journalist who reports that six hostages died in captivity.”

“One can think it was from old age or perhaps cancer,” he added.

And Davis pointed out that Jewish groups at Harvard exclusively organized and co-sponsored Sunday’s vigil.

“It’s notable that we don't have any non-Jewish groups that came out to sponsor this today, even though what we’re really mourning is very simple,” he said.

“It is six innocent civilians who were brutally murdered — murdered by terrorists,” he added. “This isn’t a political issue.”

At the vigil, which drew a large delegation of Jewish students at MIT as well as Harvard, Davis led attendees in a chant of “Bring Them Home,” which calls for the release of the hostages held by Hamas. A group also performed Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” and attendees together chanted El Maleh Rahamim, a Jewish prayer for the dead.

Ira E. Stoll ’94 said the number of people in attendance demonstrated that “a lot of people care about those hostages and are praying for them to be released to freedom.”

“For a lot of us, it’s not just the morning after some of the hostages were killed, but we’ve been praying for these hostages every week in synagogue,” added Stoll, a former Crimson president.

Zev Moore, an MIT student in attendance, said that despite the sadness of the vigil, one “silver lining” was that it brought Jewish students at MIT closer with the Jewish students at Harvard.

“We had a big chunk of people come despite many of our undergrads not being back on campus yet,” Moore added. “So we felt it was necessary to recognize the moment and stand here in unity.”

Correction: September 2, 2024

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi led chants of “Bring Them Home.” In fact, Harvard Hillel Campus Rabbi Getzel Davis led the chants.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.

—Staff writer Aisatu J. Nakoulima can be reached at aisatu.nakoulima@thecrimson.com.