Members of the Santa Clarita Valley Jewish community gathered Monday evening at Chabad of SCV for the anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel last year that saw hundreds killed and taken hostage.  Local Jewish leaders led the remembrance event, with each telling a different story from the past year.  Rabbi Choni Marozov of Chabad of SCV told a story he recently heard of a 12-year-old boy in Israel who went for a run the morning of Oct. 7, 2023. Upon his return to his home, Marozov said, he found his family dead.  Rabbi Choni Marozov of Chabad of SCV speaks to attendees gathered at the Chabad house on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. That boy, only two months away from his 13th birthday and Bar Mitzvah, told soldiers near his home that all he wanted was his father’s tefillin — a set of black leather boxes containing prayers that are recited in the morning and straps to wrap around the non-dominant arm and the head — that the father’s grandfather had given to him after surviving the Holocaust.  “That was his only request to wear his father’s tefillin,” Marozov said. “Two months later, at his Bar Mitzvah — unfortunately, not as planned, he was alone at his Bar Mitzvah — his grandfather got up and spoke about how his whole family was exterminated, was killed, was murdered in the Holocaust, and only he survived. He moved to Israel and built a family, and now he experienced Oct. 7. He turned to his grandson and said, ‘These are the tefillin that I gave your father. These are the tefillin that my father gave me before he was taken away by the Nazis. These are the tefillin that represent Jewish continuity.’”  Monday’s event in the SCV marked just one of many held across the world to remember what is now seen as the beginning of a deadly conflict in the Middle East.  Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, speaks to attendees at Chabad of SCV on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. George Whitesides, running for the 27th Congressional District seat to represent the SCV, speaks to attendees at Chabad of SCV on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. That conflict seems to be growing larger and more deadly by the day, as Hezbollah, another terrorist group backed by Iran, fired rockets at Haifa, the third-largest city in Israel. More attacks occurred on Monday, including from Israel’s military that saw Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, command centers and other terrorist infrastructure sites in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, hit with airstrikes.  Both Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, and his challenger to represent the 27th Congressional District, George Whitesides, were in attendance at Chabad of SCV on Monday.  Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami said the SCV is lucky to have two candidates running to represent the community in Congress who are in support of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.  “I want you to understand how lucky we are,” Blazer said, “how fortunate we are, that here in Santa Clarita, you can go to bed on the night of the election in a few weeks, and you can wake up knowing that the person who represents this district gets it and is going to be with us the next day and the day after. So, everyone should be comforted by at least that right now.”  Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami speaks to attendees at Chabad of SCV on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. Garcia said Americans need to understand that Israel is one of the nation’s most important allies, and that the conflict in the Middle East is a result of Iranian-backed terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.  “This is not the fault of Israel,” Garcia said. “They didn’t start this war. They may end this war, and they will defend themselves, but they didn’t start this war.”  Garcia also said that he sees no difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.  Attendees gathered at Chabad of SCV on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. “This is important because some people are operating under the auspices of anti-Zionism and saying, ‘It’s OK, I’m not antisemitic,’” Garcia said. “That is not true. That’s like saying you don’t want the Vatican to exist, but you’re not anti-Catholic.”  Whitesides acknowledged that it is important for the political leaders of the Santa Clarita Valley to stand with Israel.  “We must teach our children that antisemitism is unacceptable and that our community will be united against that,” Whitesides said. “I was proud to be with the Jewish community on Oct. 10 of last year, when we came together, and many of you were there to fight back and to show that together, we can be unified.”  Rabbi Jay Siegel of Congregation Beth Shalom speaks to attendees at Chabad of SCV on Oct. 7, 2024, for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Tyler Wainfeld/The Signal. Whitesides was referring to a demonstration outside of Santa Clarita City Hall on Oct. 10 last year that saw a pro-Palestinian group form across from a group protesting the violence against Israel. A brief bout of conflict occurred, but no serious injuries were reported and no charges were pressed.  “I’m a man of my word, and I will never walk away from the state of Israel,” Whitesides said. “I will never walk away from the Jewish community.”  Rabbi Jay Siegel of Congregation Beth Shalom said his son, who goes to school in Agoura, told him there was a lockdown due to a bomb threat before he even got to campus Monday morning. His son’s guess?  “My son said to me, ‘Well, it’s got to be because of Oct. 7,’” Siegel said. “This is the world we live in, and my heart is broken.”  Siegel led the attendees in prayer before RebbeSoul, a musician otherwise known as Bruce Burger, led them in a song he wrote as well as “Hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem.  At one point during the evening, candles were passed out and lit to remember the thousands who have died since the attack last October, and the many who remain hostages.  “We gather together to remember and to honor the victims of last year’s horrendous massacre and the tragedy that has unfolded since,” Blazer said, “and the fact that right now, at this very moment, that there are people being held, and the victimization of our brothers and sisters in Israel, which has been matched with levels of antisemitism, Jew hatred that we haven’t seen since the Holocaust in our own community, that people are even taking this moment for our remembrance and for our vigils, and turning them into opportunities to continue to assault us opportunities for hate. This is what’s happening right now at this moment.”  Blazer paused after every few seconds while speaking, his words heavy with sorrow, but also with hope.  “Thankfully, we have people around the world that are standing with us, that have expressed an outpouring of love and support for us,” Blazer said.  The post SCV Jewish community remembers Oct. 7 massacre in Israel  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.