Speakers who did not disclose their identities are referred to as spokespersons in this article.
UC Santa Barbara Students for Justice in Palestine held a vigil on Oct. 7 for the Palestinian, Lebanese and Israeli lives lost one year ago. The vigil marks the anniversary of the attack on Israel by militant group Hamas which propelled Israel’s continued siege on the Gaza Strip and recently, Lebanon.
Participants were invited to light a candle and say the name of someone who has died in the ongoing conflict. Wesley Haver / Daily Nexus
During the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, roughly 1,200 Israelis died and at least 8,730 were injured, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since Oct. 7, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have died due to the continued siege of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. More than 10,000 are missing and 97,000 are injured. Since Israel’s intensified missile strikes in Lebanon in late September, over 2,000 people have died, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
The vigil is part of the Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) Week of Rage, a series of events, rallies, workshops and teach-ins that commemorate “one year of the genocide in Gaza,” according to their Instagram post.
Beginning at 5:50 p.m. at the Lagoon, approximately 60 community members gathered while organizers placed banners stating “Let Gaza Live” and “Students for Justice in Palestine” along with a list of those deceased and candles on the Lagoon fence. Three spokespeople from SJP gave an introductory speech about the history of the Palestinian struggle.
“For the past 76 years, we have taken to the streets, occupied buildings, shut down freeways, chained ourselves together, resisted military violence and held vigil after vigil after vigil, whilst these words left our mouths, a prayer, a promise, a plea and yet we stand here today facing the nauseating reality,” a spokesperson said.
They went on to discuss broadcasts and online clips of human suffering in Palestine that have moved them to action.
“The massacres have been televised, broadcast in broad daylight. Our judges have legalized them. Our rotten institutions commemorate the martyrs only after their death. If bearing witness to the suffering of others places a weight around one’s soul, then bearing witness to the genocide of the Palestinian people feels as though a mountain sits on our hearts because it does,” another spokesperson said.
Four members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) delivered a speech remembering those who died. They also voiced their disagreement with Israel’s military actions.
“Every life taken — Palestinian, Israeli, Lebanese — every parent, child, grandchild killed was someone’s entire world,” a spokesperson said. “The Israeli government has exploited and distorted our thousands-year-old Jewish tradition to justify the occupation, war crimes and ethnic cleansing of an entire group of people.”
The JVP members proceeded to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish, a Jewish prayer that honors the deceased and is typically recited during the 11 months after a death and on the anniversary. They also recited the Mi Shebeirach, a Jewish prayer recited for blessing or healing.
The event was then opened to other attendees who wished to speak. Fourteen participants spoke in support of Palestine and recited various poems by Palestinian authors.
“If you truly understood the history and what the current conditions are, one couldn’t help but feel upset. You are not alone. These emotions are powerful motivators for change. It is our responsibility to each other, for the sake of humanity, to support one another during these difficult times,” a participant said.
The vigil concluded at around 7 p.m. with an SJP member encouraging attendees to continue advocating for Palestinian liberation and an invitation to light a candle for the deceased.
“We might feel helpless and hopeless now, but we must know such feelings are temporary because tomorrow we will continue the fight for our siblings in Palestine [and] in Lebanon. We will mourn our dead and fight like hell for the living because olive trees never bend and cedar trees never break. In our lifetimes, Palestine will be free. That is a promise,” the spokesperson said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Oct. 10, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
