On October 7, 2023, Hamas orchestrated a series of coordinated attacks on Israeli territory. From dawn, the Palestinian organization, considered terrorist by the European Union and the United States, took the State of Israel by surprise by carrying out deadly incursions by land, air and sea, thus thwarting the Israeli security measures. This tragic day cost the lives of 1,189 people, including 815 civilians, 251 people were kidnapped by Hamas during an attack during a music festival near the Palestinian enclave.
After these events, 97 people still remain detained in Gaza. According to Israeli authorities, 34 of them are presumed dead, including Idan Shtivi, 28, whose death was recently confirmed by the Hostage Families Forum. The other 63 hostages presumed alive are still being held, including 51 men, 10 women and 2 children. Among these detainees, 56 are Israelis, including at least 20 with dual nationality, according to L’Express.
Yesterday evening, a commemorative march was held in Dijon, one year after the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. Organized by the Tous 7-Octobre collective, this demonstration aimed to honor the victims of the attacks of October 7, 2023 and to express support for the hostages still held by Hamas. Around 150 people, according to the organizers (120 according to the police), gathered at Place Darcy before marching in silence towards Place de la Libération, thus marking their solidarity with the families of the hostages.
Place de la Libération, several speakers spoke, such as Israel Cemachovic, president of the Israelite Cultural Association of Dijon (ACID), underlined the historical presence of the Jewish community in Burgundy and the impact of the attacks on it. . He recalled that Hamas, in targeting Israeli civilians, sought to maximize the number of casualties to distract attention from the Israeli hostages and dead. He outlined the political strategy of the Islamist movement, which he said uses the deaths of civilians in Gaza for propaganda purposes.
François Rebsamen, the mayor of Dijon, was present yesterday at Place de la Libération, alongside the first deputy of Dijon, Nathalie Koenders. He spoke words of solidarity in his speech: “ October 7, 2023 will remain forever marked in the memory of all of our fellow citizens. This day of horror, when the terrorist organization Hamas massacred and murdered women and children, was a day of mourning for Jews around the world. But more broadly, I would like to say it here, for all citizens. French people who felt concerned… I would like to recall here a fairly simple thing: each time a Jew, each time a French Jewish citizen – I speak for France – feels attacked, feels worried in his personal life, each time it is the Republic that retreats “.
The mayor of Dijon insisted that everything came from this Hamas terrorist attack: “ We are with you, we are by your side in this moment of suffering. Of course, we do not forget the civilian populations who suffer the damage. But it all came, we will never forget, from this Hamas terrorist attack “.
Françoise Tenenbaum, president of LICRA in Dijon, called the attacks genocide and declared the cruelty of the hostage contractors, emphasizing that Hamas victims were not all Jewish. She urged society not to let October 7 become an exclusively Jewish fight, but to unite around the universal values of humanism.
François-Xavier Dugourd, vice-president of the Côte-d’Or departmental council, established a parallel between the attacks of September 11, 2001 and those of October 7, 2023. He called for this date not to disappear from memories and expressed his shame at the rise of anti-Semitism in France.
Monique Thébault, president of France-Israel Dijon, criticized the lack of global mobilization for the release of the hostages and deplored the silence of certain associations.
The gathering closed with the singing of La Marseillaise and Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, marking a moment of intense and united contemplation. This gathering in Dijon, although local, reflects international solidarity with the victims of October 7 and the hostages still captive, while denouncing the rise of hatred and terrorism on a global scale.
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