On Oct. 7, nearly 100 students and community members gathered on the Storke Tower lawn to commemorate the third anniversary of the attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas. Hosted by Students Supporting Israel (SSI), the Santa Barbara Hillel, and other local Jewish organizations, the vigil included eulogies, songs, and speeches remembering the lives lost.
The event focused on the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, which killed an estimated 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages taken from Israel. Following these attacks, Israel significantly heightened its military operations in the Gaza Strip. In the three years since, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have killed a confirmed 73,000 people in what is described as an ongoing genocide of Palestinians, with some outlets suggesting the death toll is underreported.
The vigil began around 7 p.m., with Romi Riss, an SSI member and third-year history of policy, law and governance major, thanking co-organizers including the Chabad and UC Santa Barbara’s Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity chapter. Riss stated the vigil's purpose was to remember the lives of Israelis lost, focusing on how they lived rather than solely on their deaths. She noted the gathering aimed to create "a space for the grief that is still carried by so many."
Throughout the evening, SSI members shared stories of individuals and families killed during the Oct. 7 attack. One speaker recounted how the events personally impacted her during her freshman year, stating that her "second home was under attack," and "nothing has been the same for Jewish people everywhere" since. Another speaker described the loss of the Kutz family—Livnat, Aviv, and their three children Rotem, Yonatan, and Yiftach—who were found deceased together. The speaker emphasized the difficulty of comprehending the loss of an entire family and "everything they shared with one another."
An SSI member performed "Shum Davar Lo Yifga Bi," a Hebrew song meaning "Nothing Will Hurt Me," written by IDF Lieutenant Erez Shtark. The song recently gained attention after a video of Israeli paramedic Amit Mann singing it was discovered on her phone, weeks before she was killed on Oct. 7. The vigil concluded with the entire crowd joining in singing "Imagine" by John Lennon before attendees proceeded to the Hillel for dinner.
Justin Shirazian, SSI Secretary and a fourth-year biology major, highlighted the organization’s commitment to hosting these vigils. He told the Daily Nexus that there is "a collective feeling that people are going to forget what happened" without these continued remembrances, comparing the effort to Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Corelle Gabay, an SSI member and fourth-year sociology major, noted a decrease in antisemitism at UCSB over the past three years. She shared experiences from her freshman year, two weeks after Oct. 7, when she felt "terrified," having been subjected to yelling, spitting, and verbal abuse for being Jewish. Gabay acknowledged that while the climate has improved, "we still think that we have a lot of work to do."
Shirazian also stated that SSI feels supported by University administration. He noted the attendance of several administrators at the vigil, including Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Mike Miller and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Life Suzanne Perkin. Shirazian added that the University Police Department (UCPD) also provided support and protection for the event.
When questioned about Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the Palestinian lives lost since Oct. 7, multiple SSI members, including Shirazian, stated their focus remains solely on mourning. Shirazian emphasized that the vigil was "not about politics" and aimed to mourn the lives lost, "regardless of politics, regardless of anything like that, regardless of different opinions." He reiterated this stance when asked about calls for divestment from Israel by groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Academics for Justice in Palestine. Shirazian asserted that the event was "not about politics" but about mourning their dead, adding, "We’re here for us, and that’s all I have to say about that."