Biden, Harris, Trump each commemorate anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel

Oct. 7 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday observed the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel at separate events in Washington while former President Donald Trump marked the event in New York.

The president and first lady Jill Biden honored the victims of the surprise attack launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas with a candle lighting ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House, accompanied by Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.

An estimated an 1,200 men, women, and children of all ages were slain in the cross-border Hamas strike, while more than 250 others taken hostage. Some 97 of the abductees are still believed to be in captivity a year later.

The attack prompted Israel's strongest response actions against its foes in decades, as the Israel Defense Forces launched airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza aimed at dismantling Hamas that continue to this day, resulting in 42,000 Palestinian deaths in the enclave.

At the White House, Alexander recited the El Malei Rachamim prayer, a traditional Jewish prayer often heard at funerals and on the anniversary of a death, conducing a brief service in Hebrew and English.

The president lit a yahrzeit candle in memory of the Jewish victims of Oct. 7, which was followed by a moment of silence.

Biden didn't speak or take questions during the candle lighting ceremony but issued a statement earlier marking the occasion.

"On this day last year, the sun rose on what was supposed to be a joyous Jewish holiday. By sunset, October 7 had become the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust," he said.

"Today marks one year of mourning for the more than 1,200 innocent people of all ages, including 46 Americans, massacred in southern Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. One year since Hamas committed horrific acts of sexual violence. One year since more than 250 innocents were taken hostage, including 12 Americans. One year for the survivors carrying wounds, seen and unseen, who will never be the same. And one year of a devastating war.

"On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day," he said.

The president also marked the solemn occasion by speaking with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a phone conversation, during which he "expressed his deepest condolences to the people of Israel and to the families of the 1,200 innocent people -- including 46 Americans -- massacred by the terrorist group Hamas on a day of unspeakable brutality," according to a White House readout.

Biden also "expressed deep sadness for the loss of innocent life in Gaza and the ongoing suffering of Palestinian civilians as a result of the war that Hamas unleashed."

Meanwhile, Harris and second gentlemen Doug Emhoff commemorated Oct. 7 at the vice president's official residence on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory, planting a tree and dedicating it to "the 1,200 innocent souls, in an act of pure evil on October 7, 2023, who were massacred by Hamas terrorists."

"Forty-six of our fellow Americans were killed in this brutal terrorist attack, including a singer from Missouri who died shielding her son from bullets, an academic and peace activist who studied in Seattle and who was the grandson of Holocaust survivors, and a dancer from California who was killed alongside her fiancé while attending the Nova Music Festival," the vice president said.

She urged Americans to not "lose faith" as the they "reflect on the horrors of October 7" and promised "to always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and that I will always work to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people here and around the world."

Trump marked Oct. 7 on Monday with a visit to Ohel Chabad Lubavitch in New York City, the resting place of "the Rebbe," Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

There, he placed a note praying for the release of the Gaza hostages near the Rebbe's grave and read from the Jewish book of Psalms while accompanied by the parents of American-Israeli hostage Idan Alexander.

Trump was also accompanied by Rabbi Abba Refson, director of the visitor's center at the Ohel, and Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

Auschwitz death camp survivor Jerry Wartski and two Jewish college students "currently speaking out against antisemitism on campus" were also present, the Chabad organization said.

The GOP nominee later took part in an event held by Jewish leaders in Doral, Fla.

The Oct. 7 anniversary, meanwhile, prompted protests and vigils in various locales across the United States, both supporting Israel's actions in Gaza and others denouncing the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians during Israel's year-long Gaza campaign.

A pro-Israel demonstration staged by the Christian Philos Project near the Washington Monument was attended by Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who promised that if elected his administration would target the accreditation of universities deemed to be "using federal money to harass Jewish students," the Washington Post reported.

On the National Mall in Washington, an empty Shabbat table was set up, displaying one chair and one place setting for each of the remaining hostages in Gaza as flags for each of the nationalities of the hostages flew beside them.

In New York, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through parts of the city to mark the first anniversary of the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. Social media video posted by the advocacy group Within Our Lifetime showed demonstrators waving Palestinian flags in Madison Square Park and in the city's Fashion District on Seventh Avenue.

However, due to what the group called "several violent threats from Zionists," the planned marches to Times Square and Columbus Circle were called off.