Schechter Commemorates Two Years Since October 7, 2023

by Rebecca Bazini, SSLI '26

This morning, upper school students gathered in the gym to commemorate the upcoming two-year anniversary of October 7, 2023. On that day, Hamas terrorists launched a wide-scale surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Around 1,200 lives were taken in the attack, and 251 people were taken hostage. One of the hostages was Schechter alumnus Omer Neutra (SSLI '19), whose body is still being held captive. To commemorate the anniversary, members of Israel Club ran today's minyan service and included poems, speeches, and works of art into the ceremony.

During today’s ceremony, Mikey Benlevi, a senior and co-president of Israel Club, delivered a personal and meaningful speech about his perspective since October 7. Benlevi remarked, "The message I want people to take away is that, as American Jews, our job is to stay united and support Israel.”

Benlevi's speech discussed the impact of the soldiers in the war and their families on his personal life. He told the story of Amit Regev, a 19-year-old IDF soldier who lost his life. Senior Amit Chanoch, a member of Israel Club and participant in today's commemoration, remarked, “It was a whole entire story that was very emotionally heavy, and Mikey did his best at recognizing Amit’s story.”

Senior Shir L. led the upper school in a commemorative minyan this morning. (SSLI Instagram)

The faculty was also very impressed with the reflections that Benlevi shared. Sigal Cohen, the Student Activities and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, stated, “I thought Mikey's speech was incredibly moving ... [not just] as an American Jew, but [as] one who is American and Israeli and straddles that boundary.” She continued, “I think for the kids, it's really powerful to see that it's not just us looking over there, but that there are students and faculty among us who have such a personal and close tie to people in Israel and to Israel itself.”

Chanoch reflected on the ceremony: “I think that it represents an important part ... of our history, and raising awareness to it in any way [we] can will make a difference.”

Cohen concluded, "It's imperative that we always mark [October 7, 2023] and always remember those who were killed. We also still have hostages who are being held, and so even though it's one day that we're marking, we're still in it, in a way, until the [48 remaining] hostages come home.”

Editor's Note: PPN wishes everyone a gmar chatima tova [may you be sealed in the Book of Life], an easy fast, and an early Chag Sameach! Daily coverage of everything Schechter will resume on Thursday, October 9.

Rebecca Bazini is a staff writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since January 2023. Rebecca is currently a senior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: rbazini26@schechterli.org.