More than 250 people attended the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth & Tarrant County’s memorial service for the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Monday, Oct. 7, at Congregation Ahavath Sholom in Fort Worth.

“Oct. 7 changed the course of Jewish history and shattered our sense of safety,” said Federation Associate Director Howard Rosenthal, who largely organized the event. “Am Yisrael Chai is more than a saying. The Jewish story continues to be written and we will be the ones who continue to write it.”

The memorial began with video footage from the beginning of the Supernova Music Festival Sukkot gathering, where a crowd of mostly young adults enjoyed a festive atmosphere. It very quickly turned to death and destruction.

Twelve hundred men, women and children were killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, including 46 Americans and citizens from more than 30 other countries. Two hundred fifty-four individuals were taken captive, including 101 whose condition remains unknown.

During the service, there were also music video tributes to Liron Barda, 26; Yonatan Elazari, 20; and Rose Lubin, a 21-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier from Atlanta, Georgia. Each of these individuals helped to save countless lives while sacrificing their own.

“In the face of unimaginable brutality, there was unmatched heroism,” said Barry Abels, executive director of the Federation.

There was also photographic footage of funerals from Oct. 7 victims and photos from many of the Israelis who were killed that day.

Hudson Petersen, director of political affairs for the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest United States (based in Houston), delivered a speech at the memorial, vowing that “the memory of those lost on Oct. 7 will not be erased. Every name, every face, every story. For the families of the hostages, each of the last 365 days has been Oct. 8.”

The memorial concluded with Rabbi/Cantor Judy Greenfeld of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville and Rabbi Brian Zimmerman of Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth reciting the Prayer of Peace for Israel, followed by Greenfeld, Ahavath Sholom Cantor Paul Dorman, Director of Education at Beth-El Cantor Shoshana Abrams Kaikov and Makom Shelanu (of Fort Worth) Co-founder and Cantor Sheri Allen singing “Hatikvah.”