As Boston’s Jewish community mourns Oct. 7, for many, the ensuing conflict remains polarizing

Jason Greenberg remembers being awakened by sirens three years ago at 6:29 a.m. in Tel Aviv and immediately heading to a bomb shelter.

The subsequent events forever changed his life. Greenberg, a Needham resident whose father, sister and cousins all live in Israel, was spared along with thousands of others thanks to Israel’s advanced missile defense systems. But five members of his extended family were not so lucky.

Two of Greenberg’s cousins were murdered in their home at their kibbutz. Another three — a cousin and his two children — were taken back to Gaza as hostages. The children were released early on, but his cousin was held captive for 484 days.

His cousin survived, and today is a “living legend in Israel,” Greenberg said.

Married with two children, Greenberg said the memory of what happened will never leave him. As a Jew, his worst and deepest fears came true that day.

“What’s been so difficult ... I would’ve thought that seeing Jews murdered, kidnapped and terrorized would’ve produced a broader understanding of why antisemitism is so abhorrent. Instead, I’ve watched antisemitism become more open and, in some places, more socially acceptable,” he said.

Just as upsetting, he said, is the fact that while people can disagree passionately about the Israeli government, the war and Gaza, the lines have been blurred between criticizing the government and holding Jews collectively responsible.

“There are legitimate and difficult questions about Israeli policy in the war, and people can disagree strongly about those and do, but it doesn’t change what happened on Oct. 7,” he said.

Jewish communities around Greater Boston are reflecting on the tragedy of that day three years ago when a Hamas attack on Israel left 1,200 men, women and children dead, including 26 Americans.

Rabbi Marc Baker, president and CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, said it seems like everyone in the Jewish community knows somebody whose life was changed forever.

“Oct. 7, 2023, was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Baker told GBH News. “Today is a day to grieve the over 1,200 people who were brutally murdered and raped, and the thousands of people who were injured — parents, children, grandparents, babies, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Israelis, Americans — all at the hands of the genocidal terrorist organization, Hamas.”

But even as many mourn the Israelis who died or were taken hostage that day, supporters of the Free Palestine movement say that the tide has turned on political dialogue. The attack has led to further conflict in the Middle East. The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that Israel’s war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack has led to the death of 74,000 Palestinians.

Jeffrey Kline is on the board of the Massachusetts Peace Action, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that campaigns for peace and justice in U.S. foreign policy.

Kline said the violence in the area began long before Oct. 7.

“The roots of this conflict go back many, many, many years before that. And Oct. 7 was a consequence, rather than a cause, of the violence in the Middle East, and especially in Palestine and Israel,” he said.

Klein added, “history is very important. I think even without knowing the history, most young people can see what’s going on and are sympathetic to the aspirations of Palestinians for freedom.”

He said that public opinion “has really drastically changed in the United States and around the world in the last few years.”

“The status quo of unlimited, unaccountable support for Israel is opposed by the majority in the United States now, and especially young people,” Klein said. “And I think they’re right about that.”

Rabbi Baker said he believes that Oct. 7 is not the time to look at the polarization and politics in the Middle East, and that the “outrageous and frankly antisemitic demonization of Israel began even before Israel responded.”

“We should remember the stories of the individuals and the families who were torn apart on Oct. 7,” he said. “I think we should also remember and celebrate the resilience and the indomitable spirit of the people who survived and who are rebuilding their lives against all odds. And this is really a time to come together.”

Combined Jewish Philanthropies planned an event Wednesday evening called “Gather to Remember: Stories of Resilience from Oct. 7.” It will feature the story of a couple: Eliya Cohen, who survived 505 days in Hamas captivity, and Ziv Abud, who survived the Nova festival massacre and fought every day to bring Cohen home.

Rabbi Baker said the pain of Oct. 7 remains with his community and so does the responsibility to remember.

“Right now, this is a time to remember. And this day evokes trauma. It evokes sadness. This was not something that happened kind of far away, but for our local Jewish and Israeli communities, this was intensely personal,” Baker said.