“It’s important that we come together. It hurts a little less when we’re all together.“Sunday October 6 at the end of the afternoon, Michel Cohen-Tenoudji, president of the Israelite Consistory of Marseille, confided his hope for a strengthening of the bonds of his community.
It was shortly before the ceremony of contemplation in memory of the victims of October 7, 2023. He was not disappointed: the synagogue was full.
Several representatives of the authorities and elected officials – the president of the Metropolis Martine Vassal and the mayor Benoît Payan – also made the trip.
“The twelve-month tribute” took the form of songs and prayers for the victims of the 2023 attack. A film also showed images of the devastation after the bloody incursions. At the end of the ceremony, a commemorative plaque was unveiled.
“The Jewish people long for peace”
If the atmosphere which reigned in the building was dedicated to meditation, the words spoken by the chief rabbi of Marseille, Réouven Ohana, took a more political turn.
Describing the October 7 pogrom as “a turning point in the consciences of humanity, which has never existed since the Shoah“, he first insisted that “it is not hatred that should animate us (…) Have you counted the number of times we have pronounced, in services, the word Shalom, peace? The Jewish people long for peace. We cry when war is imposed on us, it deeply displeases us. We are extremely saddened by those who lost their lives. Ours, but also others, even enemies“, continued Réouven Ohana.
