Christians stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish community in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday, commemorating one year since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel. Around 30,000 gathered at the very moving memorial event organised by Jewish community groups to remember more than 1,200 people murdered and thousands more wounded by Hamas terror in Israel one year ago, and to remember the hostages still held captive in Gaza.

CUFI was honoured to be among 40 stalls along the perimeter of the event in Hyde Park with a message from Christians to the Jewish community – “you are not alone.” 

Elsewhere across the UK, dozens of churches that support CUFI held October 7 remembrance in their services, and many Christians lit candles and used CUFI’s prayer resources in their homes.

Sunday’s rally was organised by the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, 7/10 Human Chain, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, UJIA and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

It took one whole hour for photos of all those killed on October 7 to flash on the screen as various speakers took to the stage.

Israel Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely told the huge crowd that Israel and her people had, over the past 12 months, demonstrated to the world their “strength and resilience”.

She said: “Israel today is stronger than ever, and the Israeli people are stronger than ever, and we are here united with the Jewish people here in London in Hyde Park to say to our enemies: ‘Every time you want to defeat us, we become stronger. Every time you want to divide us, we become more united.’ We will always prevail over our enemies, and we will see the 101 hostages coming back home because we will never forget them.”

Left to Right: CUFI’s Alastair Kirk, Remeny Starritt and Des Starritt at the CUFI UK stall in Hyde Park, London, on October 6th 2024.

Mandy Damari, the mother of 28-year-old British Israeli hostage Emily Damari, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and is still being held in Gaza, spoke publicly for the first time about her daughter.

“Soon, there will be nothing left of my heart, or Emily,” she said. “Diplomatic pressure, negotiations, humanitarian efforts, whatever it takes, we cannot let another day pass. We cannot afford to lose any more lives to this nightmare. We don’t need tea and sympathy; we need actions, not words.”

In a veiled demand upon the British government, Mandy, who had met with Keir Starmer the day before, said of her daughter: “How is it that she is still imprisoned after one year? Why isn’t the whole world, especially Britain, fighting every moment to secure her release? She is one of their own. I plead with those in power here to use every ounce of influence they have to advocate for the release of the hostages.”

Barak Deri was one of the first soldiers to arrive at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Entering the stage on crutches as a result of injuries he later sustained in combat, Barak addressed the crowds, sharing his heartbreaking decision that day between whether to fight at the kibbutz or attempt to rescue his brother, who had been injured by terrorists at the Nova Festival.

“In the kibbutz I saw death. Civilians lying dead in the streets…during an intensive firefight we killed many terrorists but I also lost friends, some in my arms. We searched for the hostages in Gaza but often we returned only with bodies.”

The President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “They didn’t hate us because they thought Israel was strong. They hated us because they thought Israel was weak. The attack was like the attack on the Manchester arena. Terror is terror.”

He added: “I know that this has been an incredibly tough year, but we, the Jewish people, have resilience in our DNA, and I know we are determined to come back stronger”.

He led the weather-defiant crowd in chants of “Bring them Home” and “‘Am Yisrael Chai”.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis recited a Jewish prayer for the victims of the massacre. He said: “It’s so important we continue to provide our unequivocal support for the state of Israel. We have hope because Israel is strong. We are not in the 1920s or 1930s. Israel will forever be a safe haven for Jews.”

Twenty-three candles were lit on stage, each representing a different community in Israel attacked by Hamas on October 7. Among those lighting a candle was Ada Sagi, 75, one of the hostages, who was released after 53 days in captivity. Greeted by rapturous applause, Ada broke down in tears as she came onto the stage with her UK-based son Noam.

Attendees also heard from Keith Black, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, and Henry Grunwald OBE KC, former president of the Board of Deputies and chair of the event’s organising committee, UJIA chair Zvi Noé, as well as historian Sir Simon Schama, who read three poems written by Israeli poets.

JLC Chair Keith Black, said: “The battle you are fighting is not for the Israel or the Jewish people. It is at its core a battle against a malignant ideology that seeks to bring down western civilisation. You are fighting for a set of ideals that are the foundations of the West.”

UJIA chair Zvi Noe said: “When we were asked to stand up and be counted we did not cower – we raised our voices and we raised our support. We’ve attended countless demos and we’ve raised millions for those in need. We’re helping to rebuild the communities of the south.”

Two children, Zev Hamburger and Danielle Blumin Kogan, read letters from Israelis supported by UK philanthropy in Israel.

The event concluded with the singing of the God Save the King and HaTikvah, led by Amber Kirschenbaum.

You can watch highlights filmed by CUFI at the link below.