As communities around the Jewish world prepare to remember the second anniversary of Hamas’s bloody attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, event organizers say that they are looking above all to create an environment to unify and provide consolation to their communities.

“We want our event to be aimed at the entire British Jewish community,” said Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, about a large event planned in central London this Sunday.

“This will be very much a non-political event. We want this event to be a memorial and an act of solidarity with the hostages and their families, where everyone, whatever their politics, feels like it belongs to them,” he said, possibly referring to an incident in which two progressive rabbis were booed offstage by Jewish attendees of an August rally in London after they expressed support for the idea of a Palestinian state.

At a local event in Stamford, Connecticut, a musical commemoration was designed around a vision for community members to come together and comfort each other, said Diane Sloyer, CEO of the United Jewish Federation there.

“In the days right after the October 7 attack, we had everybody speak — senators, the mayor, state officials,” Sloyer said. “This is not that time. Now, two years later, it’s about us and our community.”

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Countless memorial events are being planned around the globe on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, when Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip. Because October 7 falls this year on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and because the Hebrew anniversary of the attack falls a week later, events are scheduled throughout the coming weeks, with the majority planned for Sunday, October 5.

Diane Sloyer, CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien (Courtesy)

As antisemitic and anti-Zionist sentiment reaches global highs, most events will have police coordination and heavy security. For many of the events surveyed by The Times of Israel, organizers declined to provide the exact location of the event in advance for security reasons and to prevent protesters from disrupting their ceremonies. In such cases, coordinates will only be provided to attendees shortly before the starting time, organizers said.

“We didn’t do that, because we’ll be hosting our event at one of the local synagogues that is best equipped for an event like this,” Sloyer said. “But since October 7, we have a full-time security director and staff for all Federation events. We are in constant communication with the local police department, and a bomb squad does a sweep of the building before any event.”

Numerous protests planned for October 7 by anti-Israel activists in cities around the world will likely not be as well secured, and have the potential to erupt with violent activity and disruptions, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry has warned.

Sloyer’s event will feature Micha Biton, an Israeli musician who spent October 7 holed up in a safe room with his family in Netiv Ha’asara, a Gaza border community, as his friends were murdered by Hamas terrorists. Biton now shares his story in a presentation interspersed with music.

“We wanted to try something different,” in addition to the planned speeches by community figures, prayers for Israel and the hostages, and the communal Kaddish mourning prayer, Sloyer said.

At the London memorial, which is expected to draw thousands of participants, Wegier said the 90-minute program will feature speeches by a survivor of the Supernova Festival and family members of hostages, as well as a moving candlelighting ceremony and music appropriate for the occasion.

However, he added, with hopes that Hamas will agree to a deal with Israel to end the war in the coming days, it is important that the messaging remains flexible.

“There’s a long time between now and Sunday,” Wegier said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll see what changes in the next few days.”

Pro-Israeli counter demonstrators shout as pro-Palestinian activists take part in a ‘March for Palestine’ in central London on October 5, 2024. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Following is a sample of high-profile events from around the Diaspora:

In New York, the UJA-Federation of New York and Lab/Shul will host a public commemoration on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., remembering those lost to the war and standing with the families of the remaining hostages. The sold-out event, sponsored by numerous local Jewish organizations, can be watched online.

Since October 7 falls on the first day of the Sukkot holiday this year, Chabad of the Upper East Side is taking a different approach, celebrating Jewish life and resilience on Central Park’s Great Lawn with a “Circle of Unity.” The organization says it expects more than 10,000 Jews to come and dance “on a day when Jewish tradition forbids mourning.”

Columbia University’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies will host a Zoom discussion on Sunday with perspectives from three Israeli scholars: Kibbutz Nir Oz member and professor Jonathan Dekel-Chen, journalist Nadav Eyal and historian Avi Shilon.

Members of the Los Angeles Jewish community and interfaith leaders hold a candlelighting ceremony marking the exact moment of the first anniversary since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, at The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles on October 6, 2024. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

In the Los Angeles area, a number of synagogues are holding commemorative events. In Northridge, Temple Ahavat Shalom and Temple Judea will host a night of reflections and resilience on October 7, while Valley Beth Shalom in Encino will host a concert on October 8 honoring the heroes who saved lives during the massacre.

In Stamford, Connecticut, a commemoration featuring Israeli musician Micha Biton will take place Sunday at Temple Beth El starting at 7 p.m.

In Toronto, a midtown event at 6:30 p.m. Sunday will include a moderated conversation, testimonials, music and interactive workshops for personal reflection and shared remembrance. The free event is for ages 16 and above.

In London, a massive commemorative event is being organized in the city center at 2 p.m. Sunday, organized by the United Jewish Israel Appeal, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, and the Israeli Embassy, with the support of other Jewish organizations. The exact starting location will be announced at a later date.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has also created an online resource hub with information, testimonies, maps, and other tools to remember the October 7 atrocities.

In Paris, the representative Jewish organization CRIF is planning an evening of tribute and debates on Sunday. Tickets for the 6 p.m. event at the Salle Pleyel concert hall are available online.

People attend a demonstration in support of Israel to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, in Paris, October 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

In Australia, most major commemorations are being held after the Sukkot holiday.

An event in Sydney on Sunday, October 12, at 7 p.m. will feature as a keynote speaker Geoffrey Majzner, brother of Galit Carbone, an Australian citizen killed on October 7. The outdoor event is expected to draw thousands.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, a Shabbat-inspired ceremony on October 19 is designed to guide participants through grief and the quiet beginnings of healing.

In South Africa, a musical tribute featuring the released hostage and violinist Agam Berger will be held in Johannesburg on Thursday, October 16.

For those in the US who will be at home watching TV, October 7 is the day that Paramount+ will premiere the Israeli drama series “Red Alert,” about real acts of Israeli heroism that took place during the Hamas attack. In Israel, the first episode will air on Keshet (Channel 12) on October 5.