On Sunday, Oct. 5, Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (R-Brooklyn) hosted a memorial and vigil to mark the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel. The event took place at the Holocaust Memorial Park at West End Avenue.

The assemblyman was joined by hundreds of constituents from Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, and Manhattan Beach for the solemn event, and they were accompanied by community and religious groups, including Run for Their Lives; American Forum for Israel; the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews; the Association of Eastern-European Jewry; United Zionists; Herut; the American-Russian Speaking Alliance; the Chabad of Sheepshead Bay, The Jewish Voice; and Radio Freedom FM 104.7. Several elected officials and their representatives also attended the event, including Assemblyman Alex Brook-Krasny and representatives of Assemblyman Lester Chang and State Senator Steve Chan.

In a fiery and moving speech given at the event, Novakhov said, “In the aftermath of the brutal assault against Israel, when more than 1,200 innocents were murdered, and another 250 precious souls were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, I immediately denounced this horrific act of terror. It is unconscionable that two years later, 48 hostages are still being held captive in Gaza by Hamas terrorists! 731 days have already passed. These captives, at least half of whom are still alive, are being starved and tortured, held by Hamas and their terror networks in total darkness, in underground tunnels with their arms chained behind their backs.”

Novakhov continued, “Hamas and their collaborators are the same terrorists who savagely strangled and dismembered 4-year-old Ariel Bibas, his brother, 9-month-old Kfir Bibas, and the boys’ mother, 36-year-old Shiri Bibas with their bare hands and then held a celebratory parade when the mutilated bodies of the Bibas family were finally returned to Israel. This is the enemy that Israel is fighting! This is what Israel is up against! Israel needs our unwavering support as she battles to bring her people home, to rehabilitate the living, to bury the murdered, and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

“Commemorating the horrific atrocities of 10/7 is not only something we should be doing to heal our souls from the pain of that awful day,” said Ariel Noyman, chapter founder and leader of Run For Their Lives in Sheepshead Bay, which hosts weekly run-and-walk events calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas. “In addition, it is a moral obligation to ensure that the fundamental differences between good and evil are upheld in society for future generations. It is only until every single hostage is returned, both the living and the deceased, that the process of moving toward peace and healing can begin,” Noyman continued.

Lester Chang, member of Assembly for the 49th District, remarked, “October 7 lives in our hearts. We honor the victims, stand with the families and demand the return of every single hostage, without delay.”

Eugene Lekakh, president of the American Forum for Israel, remarked, “Two years have passed; we stand with the families and the people of Israel and will not rest until every hostage is returned, so the Jewish state can live in strength and peace.”

United Zionists CEO Stephanie Benshimol said, “Our organization has been actively advocating for the immediate release of all hostages and will continue to do so until they are all finally home.”

Novakhov concluded, “October 7 did not occur in a vacuum. It came about as the result of the constant cries of antisemites to ‘Globalize the Intifada.’ Since October 7, antisemitic hate crimes have increased exponentially, even right here in our district, in our communities. When others with hatred in their heart repeatedly tore down the posters of the kidnapped and missing since October 7, I put those same posters in the front window of my district office so that every passerby would be forced to bear witness to the atrocities of October 7.

Each day, I wear my yellow ribbon pin in support of the hostages and their families and continue to demand their release from the Hamas terrorist regime. I am a proud Jewish-American, a lifelong-Zionist and a stalwart advocate for Israel, and that will never change. I will not be silent, and I will not rest until every last hostage is finally brought home to their families.”