A year after the 7 October attack, around two hundred Oxford residents attended “Vigil for Peace, Remembrance and Unity” yesterday, organised by civic, community, and faith leaders at New Road Baptist Church.
Led by Bishop of Oxford the Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft, Imam Monawar Hussain, and Vice President of Oxford Jewish Congregation Louise Gordon, the vigil brought together a diverse group of religious leaders. Each held a prayer in their faith and spoke of the death and tragedy in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon.
Attendees, embracing and chatting with each other, wore Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other religious symbols. An assortment of political symbols were also displayed, including yellow ribbons honouring the Israeli hostages and Free Palestine pins.
Bishop Croft said in his speech: “Events in the Middle East placed an immense strain on community relationships across the United Kingdom. We wanted to have an opportunity to come together and declare our intent to build peaceful communities in a diverse city and county, to celebrate the friendships that we have together, to grieve and lament together for all that is happening and the way that affects so many here as well as in those countries.”
Oxford University Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey and Oxford Brookes University Vice-Chancellor Alistair Fitt both attended the vigil.
Tracey said in her speech: “There is a lot of kindness in Oxfordshire reflected here tonight. Many in our respected communities are struggling to make sense of the ongoing conflicts and desperately want to do something to help those who are suffering. Let us guide their empathy into action for good. Let us build on that kindness and trust between all of our communities as we encourage respectful conversations and a deepening of our relations.”
Political leaders including Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Lynda Atkins, Oxford City Councillor Susan Brown, and Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds were also present.
MP Dodds told Cherwell: “I was very pleased that this vigil could still go ahead, the third such vigil to have taken place in Oxford since the 7th of October. I am very grateful to the Baptist Church for enabling it to happen and, more important than ever, that Oxford communities and people of all faiths and none were able to come together to support each other.”
At the end, attendees held a moment of silence with candles and flashlights. They also sang along to the anti-war song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” with lyrics such as “Where have all the graveyards gone?/ Covered with flowers every one/ When will we ever learn?”
A year ago, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages from Israel, 97 of whom remain unaccounted for. Since then, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed over 41,000 people according to Gaza’s health ministry. In recent weeks, after months of cross-border fighting, violence escalated in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes intended to target Hezbollah members have killed over 2000 people. Hezbollah and Iran have launched missiles at Israel in retaliation.
