Hillel at Dartmouth and the Rohr Chabad Center at Dartmouth held a vigil on the Green last week to commemorate Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s remembrance day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Earlier in the day on April 30, community members placed 1,200 Israeli flags in front of Dartmouth Hall to represent the nearly 1,200 individuals killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.
This year’s vigil particularly honored the individuals killed on Oct. 7 and Israeli hostages who are still in captivity, according to attendee Jackson Weinstein ’27.
During the vigil, which was attended by approximately 80 people, the attendees shared speeches and poems. Attendee Alex Rockmore ’27 read the poem “Happy are those who fade at night” by Arieh Uri during the vigil.
“Happy are those who fade at night / And at the midnight of their memory,” the poem reads. “Happy are those who have still not been gathered / Their hearts have not stopped / And he is warm and he is open.”
After the event, in an interview with The Dartmouth, he said the “concepts of loss and of sacrifice are more salient than ever” in the vigil, which is held annually, in the years following the Oct. 7 attack and outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War.
“For members of the Jewish community and people who care about the survival of the state of Israel, it’s been a tough time,” Rockmore said.
Jesse Meyerhardt ’27 said he attended the vigil because wanted to show support for the Jewish community because he is a Jewish student.
“It’s really important in moments of hardship to show support and attend these events,” Meyerhardt said.
Although the vigil was led by Dartmouth-affiliated organizations, the event was welcoming to Jewish community members that are not affiliated with the College, according to Shayna Rockmore, whose parents are Dartmouth professors.
Shayna Rockmore added that she has observed a resurgence of vigil attendees in the past two years who may have felt “disconnected” from Israel, Judaism or Zionism prior to the Oct. 7 attack.
“After the horrors of Oct. 7 and the rise of antisemitism in the United States, there’s been an overall surge to reconnect to Israel, reconnect to Judaism,” Shayna Rockmore said.
Correction Appended (May 9, 11:05 a.m.): This article has been corrected to accurately reflect the number of attendees at the vigil.
Kelsey Wang is a reporter and editor for The Dartmouth from the greater Seattle area, majoring in history and government. Outside of The D, she likes to crochet, do jigsaw puzzles and paint.
