October 7 changed something in each and every one of us

This statistic underscores a simple but powerful truth that as British Jews, each one of us has a direct connection to Israel. As the news broke, our thoughts immediately turned to our loved ones in Israel, making a mental note of the family and friends we needed to contact urgently, desperate to hear they were safe. Whether it was a family member, a friend, a colleague, we all had a link, not that we needed one to feel the pain and trauma of such a brutal and shocking attack on the Jewish state.

As British Jews, this was never a distant conflict happening thousands of miles away. These are our brothers and sisters. Their pain, their plight, their ongoing fight against the evil of Hamas is personal to us all. Hamas targets Jews, not Israelis. Too many people, too often, forget or minimise that point. Reading Hamas’ charter serves as a helpful reminder.

October 7 isn’t something which will be forgotten overnight. Indeed, I believe that something changed forever on that fateful day, and it is why the work of the Jewish Leadership Council since then has shifted to focus on how we support the community in a post October 7 reality.

Two years on, our grief has not faded. The images of that day are seared into our minds

Even as the pogrom was taking place, we knew instinctively that the hatred driving it would not stay contained to the Middle East but would spill over onto our streets here in Britain. It is a well-trodden path and a fear which came to fruition. Indeed, the first request for a national demonstration against Israel came on October 7 at 12:50. This was not a protest against Israel’s response, which had not yet begun, but a celebration of the so called “resistance” against Israel’s very existence. It is a difficult pill to swallow accepting that these are the people we live amongst.

Two years on, antisemitism here in Britain has surged to levels we have not seen in a generation, directly fuelled by the horrors of that day.

Before October 2023, the Community Security Trust had only ever recorded monthly totals of over 200 antisemitic incidents on five occasions. This year, every single month has surpassed that figure. This is our reality.

Two years on, our grief has not faded. The images of that day are seared into our minds: the innocent lives taken, the families torn apart, the homes burned and destroyed. Two years on, 48 hostages remain held in captivity in the most horrific conditions. Innocent Israelis and Palestinians continue to suffer the very real consequences of war.

The pain we all feel has intensified. Yet in the face of loss, our community remains determined to bring the hostages home, determined to defend Israel’s right to exist in security, and determined to confront antisemitism wherever it is found.

As we remember the innocent men, women and children murdered by Hamas, and as we prepare to celebrate a second Simchat Torah while the hostages remain in captivity, we honour their memory by refusing to be silent, by standing up for truth, and by praying for peace.

Claudia Mendoza is CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council