HOLYOKE — The murder of six Israeli hostages on Sept. 1 is being felt by the Jewish community “in a very personal way” said state Rep. Aaron Saunders, D-Belchertown, with the impact of the murders reverberating all the way to the lawn of City Hall Thursday night, where more than 50 people gathered to hold vigil for the victims.

Among the hostages murdered by Hamas was a 23-year-old American-Israeli, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Nora Gorenstein of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts, which organized the vigil, shared that Goldberg-Polin “was well known, including here in western Mass,” with distant relatives in the area.

All six had been among the 251 captured Oct. 7, 2023, the day that Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, including 695 civilians.

“I have a lot of family in Israel, I grew up going to Israel. Israel is a big part of my life ... so everything is pretty close to home,” said Rafael Weidenfeld, who wanted to attend the vigil to voice his support for the 97 hostages still detained by Hamas.

Thirty-three of these hostages have been pronounced dead by Israeli officials, including two under the age of 5.

“We’re heartbroken over any loss of life, and I think the hostages represent this kind of in-between sadness, because we don’t know if they’ll be OK or not — these people who we’ve had hope for for so long,” he said.

Meital Aloushillouz came to the United States in 1999, and has since married an American. Her four American-born children spent their time distributing pins and handheld Israeli flags to participants who gathered before the vigil began.

“I’m an Israeli,” she said, with a large Israeli flag propped on her shoulder and one of her sons beside her doing the same. “It’s a very difficult time right now in Israel. I am from the north. There is no school. There is no life.

“My parents keep calling and talking about the bombings ... half of the north is evacuated. I have uncles and aunts who have not been home since Oct. 7. It’s horrible. People have no knowledge of what’s happening in the north,” she said.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, thanked by Gorenstein for being “so supportive and cooperative,” stood and offered reflections alongside state legislators Saunders, state Sen. Jacob R. Oliveira, D-Ludlow, and state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst.

The speakers’ voices were faint against the din of High Street traffic, although the honking and screeching tires hardly disrupted the somber peacefulness among participants, many of whom have personal ties to Israel.

In her speech, Gorenstein shared tidbits about the lives of each slain hostage. Throughout the crowd were families, children and young people, not unlike the victims being honored.

“Alex Lobanov, age 32, was a devoted husband and father. Almog Sarusi, age 27, showed profound loyalty and bravery by staying with his injured girlfriend instead of escaping,” said Gorenstein, briefly touching on the lives of the victims, who were described as “selfless,” “brave,” and “compassionate.”

“Carmel Gat, age 40, was known for her compassion and deep connection to nature, offering hope and strength to fellow hostages in their darkest hours. Eden Yerushalmi, age 24, was a vibrant spirit whose love for life and dedication to her dreams shown brightly even as they faced unimaginable fear.

“Ori Denino, age 25, was known for his selflessness and bravery helping many to safety before his abduction ... We pledge to remember these lives not as victims, but as symbols of our shared humanity,” concluded Gorenstein.

Rep. Domb drew inspiration from a Talmudic principle, that, “When you save a life you save an entire world,” and reflected that with the murder of these six people, she considers “the worlds that were destroyed.” She called on participants “to recognize the hate that drove these tragedies but to not fall into the trap of becoming hateful people.”

Sen. Oliveira recalled his reaction reading about the victim’s stories in news media reports.

“When you look at acts of violence against anyone, you look at it in horror,” he said, noting “how beautiful their lives were.”

“They contributed to society, to their families,” he continued.

Garcia shared a message of history as being an opportunity of hope for the young: “Here in the city, in the United States, and all of us here, we are doing our part to make sure that we’re teaching our kids the reality of what can happen ... As humans, we quickly forget how fragile we can be and how quickly humans can go to hate.”

He continued, “When we do things like this, it helps us reflect and remember history, and what has been done before, and what we shouldn’t be doing today.”

When asked about instances of antisemitism in western Massachusetts, Gorenstein shared that, “You can certainly see more of an increase in the last 11 months, corresponding to the events in Israel.”

“What we’ve been seeing and hearing about the most are incidents that happen in schools, because parents are more likely to be reporting incidents,” she said. “There are so many more people who do experience acts of antisemitism and don’t report it because they’re not sure who to reach out to or what qualifies, or don’t want to make a big deal.”

That is not to say there have not been “positive messages throughout the community,” including the interfaith community, she said.

While the sun set and the street lights illuminating the vigil, participants sang the Israeli National Anthem, which Gorenstein said shouldn’t be understood as a political gesture, but a poem with “religious, spiritual, and historical context.”

Reading a translation of the song, she said: ” ... our hope is not yet lost. It is 2,000 years old. To be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.