Here in New York, Jewish activists and allies gathered Monday for a vigil on the first anniversary of October 7 to mourn Israelis and Palestinians who have been killed and to call for an end to the Israeli massacre in Gaza and beyond. Participants performed prayers and read out the names of those whose lives have been lost. Democracy Now! spoke to Eva Borgwardt of the group IfNotNow at the vigil.
Eva Borgwardt: “So, the motto is 'every life a universe,' and it’s from 'pikuach nefesh,' which says that to destroy a life is to destroy an entire world, and to save a life is to save an entire world. And our government is not treating every single life as a universe. They’re treating Palestinian lives as less sacred.”
That was Eva Borgwardt, national spokesperson of the group IfNotNow. Another speaker who joined a later rally of Israeli Americans who are relatives of hostages in Gaza also spoke.
Adi: “My name is Adi, and I’m an Israeli American. A year ago, I was here in New York with my mother anxiously texting our family in Be’eri as they were trapped in their homes listening to the sounds of a massacre outside, abandoned by the Israeli government to fend for themselves. My uncle was murdered, together with a hundred other kibbutz members, and 31 members were kidnapped to Gaza. The brutality did not start a year ago, but for me and most of the people I know from my region in the world, this year was like a magnifying glass to the unimaginable damage of oppression, occupation, war and violence. … Now take this loss as I feel today, and multiply it by millions and millions, the millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, Israelis, Iranians, millions of hundreds who lost lives, lost loved ones, body functions, their homes, food, shelter, things with sentimental values, a million little connections lost forever. I want to scream. Scream. None of them are my enemy. I want nothing but peace and healing for all of them.”