On the warm Monday morning in Austin, yellow flowers covered each table in the living room of the Dell Jewish Community Center — each sunflower, rose and tulip a reminder of the hostages taken exactly one year before, during Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
People slowly filtered into the center ― past the memorials outside of yellow flowers and a field of pictures of those killed in the attacks, the flags at half-staff, and the Israeli flags with yellow ribbons and names of the places attacked ― to join together in mourning and commemorate the harrowing day.
Often with yellow ribbons pinned on shirt collars and silver dog tags reading “Bring Them Home Now” around their necks, Jewish Austinites and allies gathered Monday for a series of programs to observe the first anniversary of the devastating attacks on Israel that left homes annihilated, 1,200 people dead and more than 250 others taken hostage by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza.
“They took your life but they couldn’t take your pride,” said a sign in capital letters in front of a memorial at the Dell Jewish Community Center erected to honor the more than 360 people killed at the Nova music festival in southern Israel, where Hamas launched its attack.