Fear of ‘physical harm’ prevents October 7th events, says Ireland’s chief rabbi

Dublin’s primary synagogue chose not to organise a public memorial to commemorate the October 7th attacks on Israel due to concern over “the possibility of somebody seeking to cause actual physical harm” to the Jewish community, Chief Rabbi of Ireland Yoni Wieder has said.Wieder said the community was taking additional precautions as there had been increasing attacks on Jewish institutions worldwide after the Hamas-led attacks when, according to Israel, 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage and abducted to Gaza.“I believe that Jewish people in Ireland should be able to remember relatives, friends and fellow Jews who were murdered or taken hostage without being confronted while doing so,” said Wieder. [ Israelis gather to remember victims of October 7th attackOpens in new window ]“Of course there is a right to protest, but I do think there should be a basic human boundary around people who are simply coming to mourn their dead.READ MORE“Over the past three years, we’ve seen fatal attacks on synagogues and Jewish community events in Britain, America and Australia, as well as repeated attacks and attempted attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions around the world,” he added.“Against that background, Jewish communities globally have increased their security, and here in Dublin we’re taking the necessary precautions,” he said. Wieder said “a short commemoration” was held in its Terenure synagogue, south Dublin, on Saturday, to coincide with the third anniversary of the attacks per the Hebrew Calendar.About 150 people attended the Shabbat service, he said, including regular synagogue-goers and “those who wouldn’t usually attend synagogue, but who made the effort to be there for the anniversary. The service included the traditional memorial prayer and a powerful reflection on the lives and legacies of those brutally murdered on October 7th. The congregation is equally concerned with protests surrounding any publicised commemoration, especially as they are attended by people who lost family members on October 7th or since, or whose relatives were taken hostage, he continued. “I don’t think that a grieving daughter who has come to mourn her father, who was murdered by terrorists, should have to walk past somebody shouting at her that she’s a ‘baby killer’. But that’s precisely the kind of thing that’s happened at vigils and commemorations in Dublin in the past.[ In pictures: Three years of war in GazaOpens in new window ]“So while the community commemorates the atrocities of October 7th and will certainly not be deterred from doing so, there is greater caution about publicising these events openly,” he added. Just under 2,200 people in the Republic wrote “Jewish” as their religious identity on the 2022 census, about 1,500 of whom are believed to live in Dublin. The population number often fluctuates due to temporary migration of people from Israel.While it is understood that no big commemoration has been organised to mark three years to the day since the attacks, one has been planned at an unspecified time under the direction of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. Details, however, are yet to be shared even with those registered to attend the event, who will learn of its location 24 hours in advance of its start time – again, due to what prominent voices in the Irish Jewish community have called security concerns. A protest march from the Garden of Remembrance to the front gates of Leinster House in Dublin city centre, named “The National Demonstration for Palestine: Three Years of Gaza Genocide”, is also scheduled to take place this weekend.