Community Corner Long Island Woman Reflects On Being In Israel When War Broke Out “The chain of events that got us out of there were nothing short of miracles,” Liat Cohen said.
The lobby of Temple Emanu-El in Long Beach was filled with signs in remembrance of the hostages killed in Gaza. (Jerry Barmash/Patch) Long Beach’s Liat Cohen gave a personal account of being in Israel last Oct. 7 when the war started with Hamas. (Jerry Barmash/Patch) Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft led a service on Monday night to mark one year since Hamas stormed into Israel, killing and capturing hostages. (Jerry Barmash/Patch)
LONG BEACH, NY — The community turned out on Monday to remember those killed by Hamas a year ago, as they continue to call for the release of the remaining hostages from Gaza.
Several local elected officials joined neighborhood clergy members at Temple Emanu-El in Long Beach for the October 7 memorial service. “We must get to a place where we go beyond words, that we now have actions that show that we are together,” said Pastor Mark Moses of the New Life Church of Christ.
The most emotional remarks came from Liat Cohen, a Long Beach resident, who was visiting Israel when Hamas attacked last October 7. “We’re so grateful that you have found the strength for yourself [and] for your daughter Mya,” Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft said upon introducing Cohen. “I am so moved.”
Cohen calls Israel her second home, as her parents are originally from there. The trip was for a cousin’s wedding, but she was also able to celebrate her daughter’s bat mitzvah. However, it all changed the next day at her uncle’s house. “He looked at me and said, ‘We’re at war.'” Cohen’s main priority was her daughter, “to keep her safe, keep her close,” she said.
She sought a way to exit Israel as the war began. “The chain of events that got us out of there were nothing short of miracles,” Cohen said.