Hundreds gather for memorial service for Israeli hostages killed in Gaza

Mourners gather at the Bell Tower to remember the six Israeli hostages found dead in Gaza.

Courtesy Don Appel

More than 100 people gathered in Bell Tower Park under leaden skies, carrying American and Israeli flags and pictures of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.

The Sept. 1 ceremony was a combination memorial service for those murdered hostages found overnight and for the hostages who might still be alive. 

The service at the Bell Tower included traditional Hebrew prayers for the murdered hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was well known by members of the Riverdale community. The Star-Spangled Banner and the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah were sung. 

The bodies of the six hostages were found Saturday by members of the Israel Defense Forces in Gazan tunnels. 

The service was part of a weekly demonstration conducted Sundays that commences in Seton Park, goes through the West 235th Street/Johnson Avenue shopping area and ends at the Bell Tower.

The demonstration is organized by the Riverdale chapter of Run for Their Lives, which is dedicated to the cause of the hostages and their families. 

The Riverdale chapter was established in January by teens Ari Vogel and Netta Pack. Pack, 15, is a student at the Leffell School in Westchester.

Pack said she puts in a lot of work every day to stay informed on the issue. She had to modify a planned speech after midnight Sept. 1 when the news of the murdered hostages was released. 

Speakers included Rabbi Aaron Frank, Riverdale resident and principal of the RAMAZ School in Manhattan, and Councilman Eric Dinowitz, who represents the greater Riverdale neighborhood. 

-Don Appel