Communities gather to reflect on one year since Oct. 7
UNC police were present on Polk Place throughout the morning on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
One year after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks in Israel, UNC Hillel and UNC Students for Justice in Palestine hosted separate vigils to reflect on the past year of violence and loss. This comes after a year of SJP-led protests surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza, which has since expanded to other areas in the Middle East.
Developments on Polk Place
Late Sunday night, some students received emails notifying them of restricted access to academic buildings and were advised to bring their One Cards for admission into select buildings. Monday morning, UNC Police officers were present on campus.
By 8 a.m., students began showing identification to enter academic buildings and UNC Police officers stood in front of Wilson Library. Small Israeli flags were staked in the ground of Polk Place, with fencing surrounding the area.
UNC Facilities workers set up larger fences around the Old Well around 3 p.m., at least 20 police officers were seen near Wilson Library around the same time. University event security stood on Polk Place, where some students were distributing flyers and displaying Israeli flags.
Around 5 p.m., workers removed the fencing on Polk Place. The fencing was not reassembled on Tuesday. UNC Police officers said they are unsure how long they will need to remain on campus.
University-employed individuals erected a physical barricade around the perimeter of the Old Well in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
By the Old Well
Shortly following, around 6 p.m., community members gathered behind the fenced-in Old Well to attend a “Vigil for our Martyrs” co-hosted by SJP, Mothers4Ceasefire and the OneBody Initiative.
Students led a group of approximately 150 attendees in moments of silence and reflection. Some speakers were brought to tears as they read the names of Palestinian adults and children killed over the past year.
People mourn during a vigil for Palestine on Oct. 7, 2024 in front of the Old Well.
Attendees set down flowers, taped pictures to the fencing and held plastic candles as other speakers called for a free Palestine.
“Palestinians have taught us not about death but how to live,” a speaker from the OneBody Initiative said at the vigil. “They remind us that they were people before the war, there were people during the war and after the war, they are still people.”
Another speaker shared words on behalf of a Lebanese alumni of UNC. He said that Palestine and Lebanon are “sisters in struggle.”
The speaker said that each innocent death weighs on his soul and that he will continue to pray every night for the Palestinian people.
“If the people in Gaza and Lebanon can show resilience, then I can too,” he said.
Candles and flowers placed as offerings line the fence around the Old Well during the "Vigil for Our Martyrs" held by UNC SJP, Mothers4Ceasefire and the OneBody Initiative on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. The event was held to recognize the more than 41,000 Palestinians that have been killed in Israeli attacks over the past year.
UNC Police and the Chapel Hill Fire Department were present around the event but did not approach the vigil.
By the end of the event, all the fencing on Polk Place had been removed.
UNC Hillel
At 6:30 p.m., attendees gathered on Cameron Avenue for the Community Memorial hosted by UNC Hillel.
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Around 60 to 70 students, community members and members of University administration, including Chancellor Lee Roberts, were present at the event.
Several students gave speeches and prayers in Hebrew and English, and one community member recounted his experience being in Israel on Oct. 7.
“The most horrible thing is the uncertainty about what is happening to your loved ones,” he said.
A video titled “BRING THEM HOME NOW!” played at around 7 p.m. following a moment of silence. The video featured hostages being reunited with their friends and family and brought many attendees to tears.
Individuals hold each other during prayer at the “Community Memorial” hosted by UNC Hillel on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
Hillel member and UNC first-year Zachary Price said that Israeli flags on campus show the University's support for Jewish students, and he thinks it's important for everyone to recognize Oct. 7 as an act of terrorism, saying he appreciated the way the University handled it today.
He also said he thought the increased police presence was good for the safety of the University overall. He said knowing that he can feel safe on campus was essential to his feeling comfortable as a new student.
“I think it’s a very necessary inconvenience, it might take a little longer to get in buildings, but at the end of the day, there's no reason why people who aren't students at UNC should be randomly in buildings during the day or ever,” Price said.
UNC junior Sawyer Hussain said he thought the Hillel gathering was beautiful, and that some safety precautions had to be taken based on the events of last year, but that he supports the right to protest.
“I don’t necessarily think it's the right call to not let students voice their opinion, which I think is what some people felt, but I do think it's important to keep the campus safe,” he said.
Looking ahead across campus
UNC SJP — who the University suspended in May — plans to continue holding events as part of their Week of Resistance, culminating with picketing outside of Memorial Hall on Friday.
Friday is also University Day, where Roberts will officially be installed as UNC’s 13th chancellor.
Heels for Israel and UNC Hillel have not announced any pro-Israel events for the week.
