San Francisco Jewish community gathers for Oct. 7 memorial two years after attack

By Amanda Hari

Tuesday marked two years since Oct. 7, 2023, one of the most traumatic days in Israel’s history.

Chana Goodman knew she had to be with her community at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco for the day.

“I felt really strongly the need to be with my people because I need to feel the support of my people,” Goodman explained. “There’s so much hate.”

Despite concerns about the rise of antisemitism over the past two years, she makes a point of wearing a Star of David in public and a dog tag that reads: “Bring them home.”

“I put this on the day they were taken, and I’ve never taken it off,” Goodman said about the 48 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive. “And it won’t come off until they come home.”

Goodman has family in Israel: a brother, nieces and nephews, and two of her children.

“I’ve had two years of my kids being in bomb shelters, or the safe room,” said Goodman. “My brother in a bomb shelter talking about what weapons he can use if somebody tries to break in.”

She said she’s afraid for her loved ones every second of every day, but knows this conflict runs deep and doesn’t see it ending just yet.

“The fact that they did a ceasefire before getting them to surrender was a big mistake,” Goodman stated. “That’s not what you do in the Middle East. It’s seen as weakness.”

Goodman’s sister, Aliza Abrams, sees it differently.

“I don’t believe in smashing Gaza,” said Abrams. “I just don’t, because there’s been too much damage already. We have different points of view. We don’t talk about it. We are making a mess there. We are making a freaking mess, and people are dying.”

Avner Cohen, professor of non-proliferation and terrorism studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, does think there could be a ceasefire soon.

“I think there is a hope for an end,” Coehn stated. “To talk about it cynically, it’s very much tied to President Trump’s desire to get the Nobel Peace Prize award. The announcement is going to be Friday, and we hope there’s going to be some sort of arrangement to release all the remaining hostages.”

At Emanu-El, there’s a wall covered in photos of the hostages. Cohen believes that if there is a ceasefire, Israel needs to focus on healing and change.

“Everybody who was involved with this calamity called Oct. 7 needs to be removed and new, authentic leadership should take their place,” said Cohen.

Goodman said she is holding on to hope for the future.

“Let’s just pray that all of this gets resolved in a safe way for everybody,” said Goodman.