For Chalfont resident Mara Witsen, the Hamas murder of six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah was both breaking news, and heartbreaking.
And so on Wednesday near the courthouse in Doylestown, she and another 100 local residents gathered for a vigil to express their sorrow and to remember the victims, one of whom was an American citizen.
“Like many of you, I have been struggling with what it means to be Jewish in the United States after Oct. 7,” said Witsen. “By gathering here, it lets us all know we’re not isolated in what we’re feeling. And we’re not as alone as the protesters and antisemites want us to feel. It allows us to show the families of every victim that they have our support and our love.”
Attendees prayed, sang and listened to speakers who urged supporters of Israel, and supporters of peace, to remember the victims: American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Ori Danino, 25; Alexander Lobanov, 32; Carmel Gat, 40; and Almog Sarusi, 27.
A vigil for hostages and other victims of Hamas terrorists was held near the courthouse in Doylestown, Pa. on September 4, 2024
“The families of these six people are living a nightmare which many of us will never fully understand. We also recognize the loss of hundreds of IDF soldiers who have lost their lives in the past 11 months, all in hopes of bringing home these hostages. Their bravery knows no bounds. We pray the remaining hostages will not share their fate,” said Witsen.
More than 60 hostages remain.
Witsen’s grandfather escaped Belgium in 1940 as Nazi paratroopers were invading. “I can’t help but see the parallels [with] Oct 7, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, as Hamas invaded a music festival via paraglider. In order to keep that promise of ‘Never again,’ we must first never forget. We can never forget the names of these six innocent souls who only wanted peace with their neighbors.”
Doylestown resident Richard Tems, an Army veteran and the son of Holocaust survivors, had a sterner view.
“I served in Germany,” said Tems. “A lot of people say, ‘You can’t kill an idea.’ They’re absolutely right. You can’t kill an idea. But there are very few Nazis left in Germany.”
Tems believes Israel should have sent in tanks to destroy Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 terror attack. On that day, Hamas terrorists joined by Gaza civilians to cross the border and murder, torture, and rape innocent Israeli civilians.
“People say, ‘What about a proportional response?'” Tems said. “When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they killed a few thousand sailors and Marines. What did we do to them? The Israelis should do the same to Gaza.”
Ellen Cox Bowman is president of the Doylestown Republican Social Club, which organized the vigil.
“Living in this area, we have many, many Jewish people whose hearts are broken. They’ve been affected personally. One of the things I’ve always loved about Israel is Israel welcomes everyone home,” Bowman said. “Even those of us who are not Jewish.”
She visited Israel while serving in the Navy and said the Jewish community center in Staten Island, N.Y. provided childcare for her and her brother while her single mother worked, even though they were Catholic.
Vivi Sadel, an Israeli American whose parents are Holocaust survivors, said her father, Ezra Sherman, died three weeks after Oct. 7. Some of her friends’ families have lived in what is now Israel since the 1800s and co-existed peacefully with their Arab neighbors. “Yes. They were there. There’s no narrative that there were no Jews.”
She described how ordinary people can become heroes when the situation calls for it, including the brave actions of one of her cousins, Amir [Cohen], the southern commander Israeli police chief, whose orders saved many lives and Amer Abu Sabila, 25, a Bedouin who died while saving a woman and her children who were fleeing to safety.
“Amir was shot in the hand and wounded in the eye, but he, himself, killed seven terrorists,” said Sadel.
About the “protests, hatred and out of control immorality” at various colleges and universities. Sadel said, “We need to call them on it…this is a Nazi playbook. This is not World War II. We’re living in America. We need to set the example. Whether we go in and tell the trustees, ‘This is not happening.’” She suggested that those who donate to these colleges stop and that “we pull every single one of our kids out.”
“One way to honor the hostages is to take a stand on right versus wrong, to educate yourself so you can go and educate your community. Wear your Jewish symbols proudly. And to know and understand Israeli history and the history of the Jewish people. Black and white kufiyahs, headscarves, are tokens of Yassir Arafat to destroy Israel. [Chants of] ‘Free, free Palestine’ are code words for destruction of the Jewish state. By the way, 22 Arab states, one Jewish state. Hamas’ charter, which I have in my back pocket, their preamble, destruction of the land of Israel. So, who are we negotiating with?”
“This is not an Israel versus Arab issue,” said Sabel. “This is people who want a caliphate, total control of the Middle East, versus the one Jewish state.”
Bowman put part of the blame for the current Middle East conflict on the Biden-Harris administration.
“This would not have happened under the Trump administration. They fear Trump,” Bowman said of the Hamas attack. “And Biden-Harris have not done enough to protect the hostages.”
