October 7 Anniversary Events in Greater Boston This Week

Synagogues and Jewish organizations across Greater Boston are holding October 7 anniversary events this week, marking three years since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to the AP. Wednesday’s gatherings include a CJP program in Newton, a joint synagogue evening in Brookline and two public memorials in Newton.

This is the first anniversary with no hostages held in Gaza. The remains of the last hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, were returned to Israel on Jan. 26, 2026, the American Jewish Committee notes. “This is now about remembering the loss of life on Oct. 7,” Jon Falk of Hillel International told JNS.

October 7 Anniversary Events in Boston on Wednesday

• CJP, “Gather to Remember: Stories of Resilience from October 7” (7 p.m., Newton and online). Combined Jewish Philanthropies, with Temple Shalom of Newton, is hosting former hostage Eliya Cohen, who CJP says survived 505 days in Hamas captivity, and Ziv Abud, a survivor of the Nova music festival attack. Tickets are $18. CJP says in-person space is limited and the Newton address will be shared with registrants before the event. Event details.
• Brookline joint remembrance (7–9 p.m., Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon St.). Members of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Sinai Brookline, Temple Hillel B’nai Torah and Temple Beth Zion will gather. Rabbis Toba Spitzer, Andy Vogel, Aliza Schwartz and Claudia Kreiman will open with a short ceremony, followed by a screening of Holding Liat, the 2025 documentary by Brandon Kramer about the family of Liat Beinin Atzili, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Event page.
• Newton public memorials (10 a.m. and 6 p.m.). Fig City News lists a short community service at 10 a.m. at the flagpole behind the Newton Police Annex, 15 Spencer St. in West Newton, and a 6 p.m. memorial on the Newton Centre Green. Both are open to all.

Commemorations Earlier This Week and Next

In West Roxbury, Temple Hillel B’nai Torah held an extended evening service on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 120 Corey St., with recitation of Psalms, song and sharing, according to the congregation’s calendar. The same calendar listed an Oct. 6 online program from the New Israel Fund and the Parents Circle–Families Forum featuring two bereaved family members, one Israeli and one Palestinian.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m., Temple Emunah in Lexington is scheduled to host Friends of Givat Haviva with Mohammad Darawshe, the organization’s director of strategy at its Center for Shared Society, which works on relations between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, the Hillel B’nai Torah listing says.

On campus, JNS reported that a student-run exhibit at Boston University will memorialize victims of the attack. The Boston Report could not independently confirm the exhibit’s time and location.

Security and Context

Organizers are taking security precautions. CJP’s event page says its team follows event-safety best practices “that may or may not be visible” and keeps venue details private until shortly before the program. State security funding for Jewish institutions and other nonprofits is covered in our report on antisemitism data and the Massachusetts response.

The anniversary has drawn different kinds of gatherings in Boston before. Two years ago, the Boston Globe reported that members of the Jewish community gathered in Newton Centre to mourn the dead and the hostages, as they had weekly since the attack, while about 400 people rallied outside the Old State House in support of Palestinians.

For background on the community marking the day, see our explainer on Boston’s Jewish community history, and the publisher’s October 7 editorial. For broader regional context, see our recent coverage of Gaza reconstruction plans.