Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — Civic leaders in Beverly Hills gathered early Oct, 7 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, one of several events to mark the occasion, while dozens of pro-Palestine protesters staged a walk out and march around the USC campus.
Beverly Hills leaders acknowledged the anniversary at Beverly Gardens Park on Santa Monica Boulevard, where roughly 1,200 flags are on display — one for each person who died in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“Beverly Hills is much more than what some may perceive as glitz, glamour and luxury,” Beverly Hills Vice Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian said during the pre-dawn ceremony. “Our community stands in solidarity and we will not allow terror or hate to manipulate us.”
The flags have been on display in the park since January. During the memorial service Oct. 7, the city unveiled signs designating the area “October 7th Memorial Square.”
The early morning event was one of several events held across the area to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
The Jewish Federation Los Angeles hosted a program at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills in the evening, billed as a way to “remember victims and honor the resilience of survivors.”
“We often see a troubling rise in antisemitism around the world, including here in L.A.,” Mayor Karen Bass said at L.A. Remembers. “So let me be unequivocally clear, antisemitism has absolutely no place in L.A.”
The event also included a candle-lighting ceremony and speeches from relatives of hostages.
“Coming together to commemorate October 7th offers all of us an opportunity to gather strength as we share a sense of community that supports Israel and fights to keep the faces of the hostages front and center in everyone’s hearts until they all come home to their families,” Roz Rothstein, founder and CEO of StandWithUs, said in a statement.
Shortly before noon, dozens of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Trousdale Parkway and Jefferson Boulevard gates to the USC campus for a rally and march. USC closed the campus entry gates at the location as the crowd gathered.
The group rallied at the intersection, although traffic continued to move through the area. The group chanted slogans such as “Free, free, free Palestine,” “Shut it down,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Los Angeles police and USC Department of Public Safety officers monitored the group, which marched west on Jefferson Boulevard, then south on Vermont to Exposition Boulevard, stopping briefly at each entry to the USC campus. There were no immediate reports of any arrests.
Organizers of the march, including groups such as USC Students for Justice in Palestine, Divest from Death USC, and Jewish Voice for Peace USC, were planning at least three days of events this week, including an “Art of Resistance” art workshop and auction event Oct. 8 and a “Study-In for Palestine” Oct. 9.
Pro-Palestine protesters also staged a march and demonstration in downtown Los Angeles Oct. 7.
A similar protest occurred around midday at Pomona College in Claremont. A small group of protesters that gathered on the campus quickly swelled to dozens of people. The group at first quietly gathered, then they began marching, and ultimately descended on the campus’ Carnegie Hall Library, and blocked access to the building.
Some protesters remained in the library until later afternoon.
College officials, who last year were forced to relocate commencement ceremonies due to on-campus pro-Palestine encampments and protests, issued a statement condemning the actions of protesters.
“We will not permit the presence of masked, unidentified individuals on our campus refusing to show identification when asked,” according to the college. “Nor will we stand for the takeover of buildings and the disruption of academic continuity — all of which happened today. Anyone involved in this disruption is subject to disciplinary action.”
Organizers of the Pomona College protest advised people who planned to take part in the action to wear a mask to “prevent spread of COVID,” but also advised them to cover their head and hair, wear sunglasses and cover any tattoos and piercings that could be used to identify them.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war during an appearance on the ABC late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” following a visit to Nova Exhibit in Culver City.
Walz said he met a recently released Hamas hostage named Noa at the exhibit about Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Nova music festival which was part of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
“Like Noa said, ‘We just want to dance again.’ That’s what we want to do,” Walz said.
The Minnesota governor told Kimmel Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, “and I talk about making sure that it never happens again, that Israel’s secure and the hostages are brought home and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza ends.”
Supporters of Israel have repeatedly said the war would end if Hamas released the hostages it holds.
On Oct. 6, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles held a reception and candle-lighting ceremony at the Museum of Tolerance Los Angeles.
“It was not the last chapter of my life,” Andrey Kozlov, who was held hostage for eight months and a day, said at the event that coincided with the exact moment of the Oct. 7 attacks.
“Something better is coming, and here I am with lots of opportunities. I became some kind of voice of hostages, and I am able to speak.”
