16 | OCTOBER 3 • 2024 J
N

T

he world turned upside down 
for all of us on Oct. 7, 2023. 
You will always remember 
where you were when the first 
details of an attack on a music 
nature festival somewhere in the 
Negev came trickling in — accounts 
of 20-something party revelers 
hiding in trees from hundreds of 
Hamas attackers, of women being 
raped and the terrified young people 
recording goodbye messages to their 
families on their phones. 
There was that initial paralyzing 
shock when you learned the 
unimaginable, that Hamas terrorists 
and many of their Palestinian 
enablers tore through security 
fences in the early morning hours 
of Simchat Torah and mercilessly 
attacked dozens of kibbutzim in 
southern Israel. 
The term terror attack seemed too 
mild. Only one word from Jewish 
history could describe what had 

happened: This was a pogrom. 
For Jews in Israel and in the 
diaspora, the covenant of “Never 
Again,” those black-and-white 
grainy images of the Holocaust 
atrocities we thought we had put in 
our past, came roaring back in real-
time, full-color Instagram posts. 
Then came a renewed 21st-century-
styled hatred for Jews that flooded 
cities and college campuses. 
We have been denied breathing 
room to process this grief over the 
last year as we see Jewish hatred 
intensify around the globe. Yet, Oct. 
7 also strengthened and mobilized 
us. At a time when alliances 
and friendships from the wider 
community seemed to melt away, 
we leaned on each other harder. 
We embraced our Judaism, learned 
more about Israel, supported it with 
record-breaking fundraisers, and 
booked trips to visit and volunteer. 
Leading up to this grim first 

anniversary, The Detroit Jewish News 
asked its readers: How has Oct. 7 
changed you? Here are some of your 
answers: 

“I live in a bubble with mostly 
Jewish friends and never felt the 
antisemitism until Oct. 7, 2023. 
Now, the more I am aware of the 
growing antisemitism, I am an even 
prouder Jew and Zionist. I was 
always a Zionist, but supporting 
the right for the Jewish people to 
live free and stay in our ancestral 
homeland is even more important to 
me now. 
“Since Oct. 7, I have begun to 
read more about Israeli history. I am 
sure I learned about this in Hebrew 
school but have long forgotten and 
need to relearn it. I proudly wear 
my yellow ribbon and blue square. I 
began wearing my Jewish star, which 
I have not worn in years. We need to 
get out there and create a movement 

like ‘Jewish Lives Matter.’” — Laurie 
Golden, West Bloomfield 

“My Jewish life has 
not changed since 
Oct 7. I still sit on 
the Hadassah Greater 
Detroit executive board, 
deliver food for Kosher 
Meals on Wheels weekly, 
visit elderly people 
through Jewish Family Service and 
regularly attend Shabbat services. 
What has changed is that I wake 
up every morning and think about 
Israel, its people and our hostages.” 
— Rhonda Rich, West Bloomfield

“I was quite upset 
upon hearing the news 
of the Oct. 7 attack. I 
attended many events in 
the community and took 
to heart the message: 
‘Choose life, choose 
courage over fear and 
choose faith over despair.’ I have 
contacted relatives and friends in 
Israel and flew to Washington, D.C., 
in November to attend the rally for 
Israel with the Jewish Federation. 
“Although I retired from the 
Jewish Community Relations 
Council six years ago, since Oct. 7, I 
have encouraged Israeli advocacy by 
communicating with several lay and 
professional leaders of our major 
Jewish organizations, including 
the Jewish Federation, the JCRC, 
Hadassah and the National Council 
of Jewish Women. 
“I posted important articles and 
other information on Facebook to 
further educate individuals and 
Facebook groups about the war. 
I contacted our local media in 
both praise and criticism of their 
coverage, pitched story ideas and 
submitted letters to the editor.” — 
Allan Gale, West Bloomfield

“Everything changed on Oct. 7. 
The minute I took to my Instagram 
account and shared how I was 
feeling, my life changed forever. I 
describe myself as an ‘accidental 

The 
Aftermath 
of Oct. 7

Local Jews share how the 
world has changed for 
them since that fateful day.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Rhonda 
Rich

Allan Gale

Rebecca Starr 
volunteering with 
her good friend Hila 
Schwartz in Detroit’s 
Partnership2Gether 
region.

