From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
Citizen groups organize memorial events to mourn October 7 victims, highlight hostages
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
As Israelis mark 30 days since the October 7 massacre, local citizen groups have organized events to mourn the 1,400 people killed, a majority of them civilians.
The first event of the day was an 11 a.m. minute of silence, similar to the moments of silence accompanied by sirens that are sounded on Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel Memorial Day.
The moment of silence was marked at Democracy Square in Tel Aviv, a section of Kaplan Street that was renamed in July in honor of the weekly protests there against the government’s judicial overhaul.
The Israeli flag was lowered to half staff at a Hod Hasharon community center as well as other cities and local authorities.
Yellow balloons were released at a ceremony at Bar Ilan University marking one month since the start of war against Hamas and symbolizing the hostages taken captive by the terror group.
Students also lit memorial candles at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.
