Events across LA recognizing Oct. 7 attacks on Israel

October 7th Remembrance ceremony

Events will be held across Los Angeles commemorating the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

LOS ANGELES - Events remembering the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel took place across Los Angeles.

The Jewish Federation Los Angeles Monday hosted a program at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills billed as a way to "remember victims and honor the resilience of survivors."

Organized by the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, Israeli-American Council, StandWithUs and Temple of the Arts, doors open at 6:30 p.m. Monday for "L.A. Remembers." Among those expected to attend are actress Mayim Bialik, Israeli actress Moran Atias, Israeli performer Raviv Kaner, as well as more than 30 elected officials including Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks.

There will also be a candle-lighting ceremony and speeches from relatives of hostages.

The event will be livestreamed online.

"Coming together to commemorate October 7th offers all of us an opportunity to gather strength as we share a sense of community that supports Israel and fights to keep the faces of the hostages front and center in everyone's hearts until they all come home to their families," Roz Rothstein, founder and CEO of StandWithUs, said in a statement.

10/7 Remembrance at Museum of Tolerance

Events commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel will take place across Los Angeles.

Additionally, Beverly Hills community leaders, elected officials, religious leaders and residents gathered at 6 a.m. near the city's Israel Flag installation to commemorate the one-year anniversary.

"Beverly Hills is much more than what some may perceive as glitz, glamour and luxury," Beverly Hills Vice Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian said during the pre-dawn ceremony. "Our community stands in solidarity and we will not allow terror or hate to manipulate us."

The hundreds of flags have been on display in the park since January. During Monday's memorial service, the city unveiled signs designating the area "October 7th Memorial Square."

Meanwhile, IfNotNow Los Angeles gathered at downtown's Gloria Molina Grand Park to honor the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, and the ensuing "brutal collective punished by the Israeli government" over the past year. The event slated for 6 p.m. is intended to "remind elected officials and fellow Americans that violence is antithetical to Jewish values and that it will never keep any of us safe."

Events on college campuses

Shortly before noon Monday, dozens of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Trousdale Parkway and Jefferson Boulevard gates to the USC campus for a rally and march. USC closed the campus entry gates at the location as the crowd gathered.

The group rallied at the intersection, although traffic continued to move through the area. The group chanted slogans such as "Free, free, free Palestine," "Shut it down," and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

Los Angeles police and USC Department of Public Safety officers monitored the group, which marched west on Jefferson Boulevard, then south on Vermont to Exposition Boulevard, stopping briefly at each entry to the USC campus.

Pro-Palestinian demonstration underway at UCLA

Dozens gathered at UCLA to hold a pro-Palestinian rally on Oct. 7, the one year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas attack.

There were no immediate reports of any arrests.

Organizers of the march, including groups such as USC Students for Justice in Palestine, Divest from Death USC, and Jewish Voice for Peace USC, were planning at least three days of events this week beginning with Monday's "walk out." The organizers plan an "Art of Resistance" art workshop and auction event Tuesday and a "Study-In for Palestine" on Wednesday.

A similar pro-Palestine protest occurred Monday around midday at Pomona College in Claremont. A small group of protesters that gathered on the campus quickly swelled to dozens of people. The group at first quietly gathered, then they began marching, and ultimately descended on the campus' Carnegie Hall Library, and blocked access to the building.

Some protesters remained in the library until late afternoon.

At UCLA, dozens of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered for a rally. So far, the protest has been peaceful and security has been rammed up in the area.

Candlelight ceremony

On Sunday, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles held a reception and candle-lighting ceremony at the Museum of Tolerance Los Angeles.

"It was not the last chapter of my life," Andrey Kozlov, who was held hostage for eight months and a day, said at the event that coincided with the exact moment of the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Something better is coming, and here I am with lots of opportunities. I became some kind of voice of hostages, and I am able to speak."

Mayor Karen Bass said "Today, we must continue our prayers for safety and peace. As conflict rises in the Middle East, we often see a troubling rise in antisemitism around the world, including here in L.A. So let me be unequivocally clear -- antisemitism has absolutely no place in L.A."