The 7th Two Years On
The 7th - השביעי
On Sunday evening, Toorak Shule was filled to capacity as the community came together, along with allies and politicians from both sides of the aisle, to honour the 1,200 people who were murdered on October 7, 2023 and over 250 hostages taken that day.
Zionism Victoria's CEO, Ilan Rimer, said that this ceremony would pay tribute to "the last Shabbat of the world we once knew. Instead of a formal ceremony, we invited the community to a Shabbat table. To a table that can hold all of us: in loss and in pain, in gratitude and relief."
The audience heard a moving testimony from Geoffrey Majzner, an Australian-born survivor of the October 7 massacre from Kibbutz Be'eri, whose sister Galit Carbone was the only Australian murdered that day. Geoffrey spoke about the helplessness he felt on October 7 and the deep pride he feels in being so connected to the Australian Jewish community.
We also heard from Simona Weinstein about the tireless and inspiring work being done by a group of Melbourne women to help bring respite, support and connection to Israeli children during the war.
The ceremony concluded with messages of hope, as Ilan reflected "as Jews, we are often holding competing feelings in our hearts. We have been heartbroken but also hopeful. We have felt immense pain but also immense strength. We have felt threatened and abandoned but also encouraged and resolute."
Heartfelt songs from Avimeir, an Israeli musician, and touching montages of hostages being joyfully reunited with their families left the audience deeply moved and uplifted.
Explore The 7th event gallery here.
The Morning Israel Exhaled
Spending a month in Israel during the hostage release was an experience that will stay with me forever, filled with heartbreak, hope, and a sense of history unfolding in real time. I arrived at a moment when the entire country was holding its breath, living day to day with the uncertainty of who might come home next. Every conversation, every headline, every prayer carried the same plea: Bring them home.
At the heart of this collective yearning was Hostages Square. Each day, it drew thousands from every part of Israel – families, soldiers, grandparents, young people, artists, and strangers who became one community. The atmosphere there was unlike anywhere else. It was at once solemn and determined, a place where pain met unity and where silence could speak louder than words.
The morning of the release, Hostages Square felt euphoric. The crowd was restless, hopeful, and anxious, united by a shared anticipation that something sacred was about to happen. When word spread that buses were moving and that hostages were finally returning, people wept and embraced. The tears were not only for joy, but for relief, for the proof that light could still break through after so much darkness. For a brief, extraordinary moment, the entire square seemed to breathe again.
But even amidst the joy, there was a quiet ache. The faces of those who had not yet returned still surrounded us, their names and smiles printed on posters that fluttered in the warm Tel Aviv wind. Their absence was a presence of its own, reminding everyone that the story was not yet complete. The joy of return was inseparable from the sorrow of waiting.
Throughout that month in Israel, I saw resilience everywhere. In markets and cafés, on buses and beaches, people carried on with life but never far from the grief that had reshaped their world. It was not resilience born of denial, but of faith – the faith to keep living, to keep loving, to keep hoping. Even in mourning, there was purpose. Even in fear, there was pride.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Elyse Schachna - President Zionism Victoria