Commemorating the Victims of the Hamas Attack on Israel

On October 7, 2024, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, the House of One participated in the central commemoration in Berlin with Rabbi Andreas Nachama, Pastor Marion Gardei, and Imam Kadir Sanci.
Bishop Christian Stäblein of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO) welcomed the guests gathered at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church with the words:
"A house like this exists to bring thoughts and feelings before God. Our remembrance of one year ago. The massacre of October 7. The killing and murder in an unimaginable way. Unprecedented since the Shoah. Unspeakable. But we must speak of it—to confront those who deny it or who even rejoice over the dead."

The Suffering in Israel, Gaza, Jabalia, and Rafah

Stäblein continued by reflecting on the events that followed October 7, 2023:
"The suffering of so many. In the south. In the north of Israel. In the center. The suffering of so many, in Gaza, in Jabalia, in Rafah. The tears of children, the hunger, the unimaginable destruction, the terror, the dead, the many dead—we weep with them. Yes, the suffering affects us deeply, it moves us, the suffering of Palestinians and of people in Lebanon. But first and foremost, it is the Israelis who are affected. And let me say this clearly: all this suffering is the responsibility of Hamas and Hezbollah. The calculated terror."
(Link to the full speech)

"We pray for all victims," said Rabbi Nachama in his sermon. Just three days after the massacre, the House of One invited people to an interfaith prayer for peace, which was attended by a large number of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhist believers, and others.

Now, the question is: What could peace look like in the future? Rabbi Nachama emphasized that peace must also include those living beyond the borders.
"For the heavenly tent of peace does not only protect this side of the border but extends beyond it. So when our prayers say, 'Shalom al Israel'—Peace for Israel—that only works if there is also peace on the other side of the border."

A Vision of Peace for the Middle East

But what might such peace in the Middle East look like? Rabbi Nachama shared his personal vision:
"That the borders between Israel and its neighbors become as insignificant as those between Germany and Luxembourg. That Gaza once again becomes known as a bridge between Asia and Africa. That Muslims, Christians, and Jews live side by side and together." Nachama described himself as a believing Jewish realist.
(Link to the full sermon)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also expressed his hope for peace, stating:
"The reality must change—it must become better. A reality in which Israelis and Palestinians can live peacefully side by side and together. This cannot be achieved through military means alone."
(Link to the full speech)

The speeches also addressed the alarming rise in antisemitism in Germany.
"Threats, humiliation, contempt, labeling, slander, incitement, graffiti, attempts to erase history, assaults. We will not allow this. We will not get used to it," said Bishop Stäblein.

After the multi-religious prayer in the church, around 500 people marched in a memorial procession to the Jewish Community Center on Fasanenstraße. There, among others, the Chairman of the Jewish Community of Berlin, Gideon Joffe, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, and the Israeli Alon Gat, whose sister was first taken hostage and then murdered, spoke.