“Unfortunately, a lot of those did not survive because they were the first ones to meet the terrorists face-to-face”.

“Because what I’ve realised from most of my activism is that [the] majority of the population has not been taught history.”

‘Remember lives stolen’

Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of ECAJ, said that, over “these past two years, our community has experienced everything from the terrifying to the absurd”.

The New Israel Fund remarked: “The horrors of that day are etched in our minds — brutal assaults, the overwhelming loss, abductions, and deep sorrow.”

Members of the Jewish community continue to demand the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi

“Similarly, the deaths of so many innocents in Gaza and the destruction of their cultural, health and educational institutions has traumatised not only those living in Gaza, but the many family and friends who live in Israel, the occupied territories, neighbouring countries and around the world,” the New Israel Fund said in a statement.

The council highlighted that “entire neighborhoods are in ruins, with hospitals and schools deliberately targeted, and a famine caused by the Israeli occupation continues to endanger innocent lives.”

Israelis’ response to October 7

Additionally, a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute showed 66 per cent of Israelis expressing that the conflict in Gaza must end, primarily due to the risk to hostages.