For the second consecutive year, Jewish people and allies from the Colorado Springs area will gather on Oct. 7 to recognize an anniversary they’d rather forget but say they never can.

“We felt it was important to come together and remember the loss around Oct. 7 and the barbaric acts that have taken place,” said Jordan Baldwin, co-founder of First Amendment Media, which produces grassroots events such as an Israel Independence Day celebration at the state Capitol in Denver in May.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization, initiated coordinated surprise attacks on civilian residential communities, at social events such as a concert, and on Israeli military bases in southern Israel that border the Gaza Strip.

Some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 46 Americans, were killed in the assaults, according to the U.S. government.

Attackers shot many people at close range or blew them up with grenades, raped women, tortured victims and committed other atrocities, witnesses told the Human Rights Watch group.

Hamas also took an estimated 251 hostages, of which 48 are thought to still be alive and held in captivity.

The war that ensued continues, though the Trump administration has indicated in recent weeks that a war-ending plan between the factions could be coming soon.

Hamas said on Friday it would agree to some of the terms in President Trump’s plan to end the war, including releasing hostages, but avoided addressing more vexing issues like disarmament and said it would seek further negotiations.  

Locally, an anniversary prayer vigil will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Acacia Park, with music and singing and include speakers such as local elected officials and prominent community members.

“This is an open invitation to all people from all beliefs who want to stand against terrorism and hatred,” Baldwin said.

The event will be a night of encouragement and faith, as participants remember the lost, pray for victims and present a force of solidarity, said Baldwin, an Ashkenazi Jewish man and grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

“My grandmother told me that before she got put into a concentration camp, people’s mindset had changed so much over a short period of time that it almost seemed like they were under a spell,” he said. “I believe we’re seeing a lot of dangerous ideologies today that don’t make any sense, and we’re seeing a reiteration of that evil.”

Antisemitic attacks have escalated since the war began, and support for Hamas and the Palestinians has increased in the U.S. and other countries.

The Anti-Defamation League’s 2024 audit counted 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the U.S., a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023.

But last year’s tally represents a 344% increase over the past five years and an 893% increase since 2015, when there were 942 total incidents for the year.

The 2024 compilation is the highest number in the organization’s 46 years of tracking.

On Thursday’s Yom Kippur, a holy Jewish holiday, two people were killed outside a synagogue in Manchester, England, by an attack in which the assailant rammed his car into the synagogue’s gates and then stabbed people around him, according to media reports.

“This is why we’re having this event. We must stand against terrorism, as we are all victims of the ‘terror’ it brings to our lives,” said Chaim Goldman, founder of Pikes Peak News who teaches journalism and broadcasting classes in Colorado Springs School District 11.

On the first anniversary of the Hamas attack last year, and onset of the war in the Middle East, pro-Palestinian protestors set up encampments on college campuses or other sites in many communities.

Land disputes have been ongoing for decades between Palestinians and Israelis, and during the current war have also included humanitarian concerns for deteriorating living conditions in Gaza.

Demonstrations have continued this year, amid the Trump administration’s financial penalties for colleges that have allowed students to carry out antisemitic actions.

Pro-Palestinian protesters staged a rally on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the state Capitol in Denver.

An attitude of fear is prevalent in Jewish communities, Baldwin said.

“This is not just about Israel, but terrorism against us all. Israel just seems to be on the front lines of this,” he said. “We really want people to know that together we find strength. When we can’t unite it doesn’t help and sometimes makes things worse.”

As the anniversary approaches, Jewish people “remain in both sorrow and yet vigilance of the safety in our own community and across Colorado,” said Rabbi Mark Howard of Colorado Springs. “Knowing Hamas means violence, and our hearts and spiritual yearns are to achieve peace.”

While recognizing that “Hamas struck out with brutal and senseless attacks,” Howard is among the Jews who pray for the safety of Gaza and Palestinians, too, as they “remain dear to our hearts as our brothers and neighbors.”

“We’ve been down this path before, and we do tire from violence. What we will not tire from is praying for the peace of Jerusalem and praying for all Israeli lives and people still in Gaza,” Howard said. “Attacks are not the answer. We ask to let God do his part, while our part as his people is to show compassion and pray.”