To a crowd of waving Israeli and American flags, Gov. Greg Abbott proudly declared Monday night that “Texas stands with Israel.”
Hundreds gathered Monday night at Congregation Shearith Israel in Preston Hollow, commemorating one year since the deadly Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, celebrating Jewish resilience and calling for peace.
One year ago, Hamas launched surprise attacks within Israel during a music festival that killed 1,200 people and 250people were taken hostage. The Israel-Hamas war followed and more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
About 100 people are still being held against their will despite efforts by the U.S. and other countries to secure their release.
The event in Dallas included prayers for the Israeli Defense Force, testimony from the family of hostages and keynote remarks from Abbott and Israeli diplomat Livia Link-Raviv.
Link-Raviv spoke about the impact of the last year on her personally as a representative of Israel and her response to the attack, which included comforting families, combating misinformation and struggling with guilt for being away from her home.
She said the country “battles diplomatically on the world stage” as well as on the ground to defend “a war we did not start or ask for, yet one we justly carried out.”
Link-Raviv also thanked Abbott for his commitment to the Jewish community, one he reiterated during his remarks.
Abbott said three things must be true: that Israel is allowed to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah, that the U.S. must do everything possible to support Israel and that all hostages must be returned.
“Israel cannot have peace, the world cannot have peace, until Hamas is gone,” he said.
Dallas resident LeElle Slifer also shared testimony of her family members taken hostage, of their experiences on and since Oct. 7. She emphasized the strength, resilience and defiance of her family members and encouraged the audience to embody those same characteristics.
“Hamas wants you to remember the images of the death and the destruction and the evil they perpetrated to make us feel powerless, but when you all think of October 7, I want you to remember a different picture,” Slifer said.
The event was not the only one in Dallas to mark the anniversary of the attack.
On Saturday, Hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors gathered in downtown Dallas as a part of an international day of action. They called for a weapons embargo, immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic, peaceful resolution to the war.
“You are what democracy looks like,” Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee for the president, told the crowd Saturday. “And together we are the conscience of the world.”
Neta Tzivoni, who moved to the U.S. from Israel in 2006, said she attended the event because “as an Israeli, I felt like it [was] a must.”
She said the program made her feel proud, welcome in Texas, and safe, which she emphasized is a big deal these days.
Tzivoni said that, to her, peace means “that everybody will live their life, wherever they are, in peace. In Gaza, Israeli, the West Bank, Iran, Lebanon, wherever it may be, I want people to be in peace, to be happy with their life.”
Staff Writer Aria Jones and the Associated Press contributed to this report.