Thousands gathered across the U.S., in Israel and around the world Oct. 7 to mark the second anniversary of the deadly pogrom carried out by Tehran-backed Hamas and to demand the release of all the remaining hostages. Hamas thugs murdered over 1,200 people in Israel that day, raped women, mutilated their bodies, seized 250 hostages, proudly posted videos of their atrocities and have threatened to do the same and worse again.
Hundreds filled the Great Lawn in New York’s Central Park before marching with pictures of hostages and those killed in the attack. Two days earlier, Iair Horn, who was taken hostage by Hamas and held for 498 days, spoke at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. He talked about his younger brother Eitan, who is still held hostage. “This must be the moment when families are reunited,” Horn said, “when the nightmare ends.”
In London, thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square Oct. 5 to mark the pogrom, lighting candles for Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, two Jews murdered at a Manchester synagogue days earlier. Those killings show “how deadly this virulent antisemitism has become,” Keith Black, chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, told the demonstrators. “Our streets have been filled with protesters screaming Jew-hatred, our students have faced relentless waves of abuse on campus.”
More than 1,000 chairs with the photographs of Israeli hostages and those murdered Oct. 7 were installed in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. Mourners placed stones and photos on chairs in a vigil echoing Jewish traditions.
‘End Hamas’s reign of terror’
In Israel, 30,000 people filled Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. The ceremony opened with a moment of silence for those killed by Hamas.
“We will continue to act to achieve all the war’s objectives: the return of all the hostages, the elimination of Hamas rule and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “What began in Gaza will end in Gaza,” he said, “with the end of Hamas’ reign of terror.”
But along with the gatherings that condemned Hamas’ brutality, its supporters chose Oct. 7 to hold actions in several cities around the world hailing the Nazi-like group.
In New York hundreds marched through midtown chanting “From the river to the sea,” a call for the destruction of Israel. Marchers carried banners that said, “Long live the intifada” and “Glory to our martyrs.” One carried a banner with an image of a jihadist flag adorned with a machine gun.
Large pro-Hamas demonstrations were held in Sydney, London, Paris, Geneva, Athens, Tokyo and elsewhere.
In Muswell Hill, London, a display of yellow ribbons in solidarity with the hostages was cut down by a Hamas supporter. “People are trying to erase the trauma that has happened to Israelis, to the Jewish community,” Emma Semp, who puts up ribbons, told the BBC.
Protesters in Melbourne, Australia, sprayed-painted “Glory to Hamas” and “Oct. 7 do it again.” Pro-Hamas supporters waved Palestinian flags and shouted “Israel is a terrorist state,” outside King’s College London.
Hamas marked the two-year anniversary of its massacre calling it a “glorious day of success.”