A vigil was held on the campus of Cal Poly on Monday evening to commemorate the lives lost in the terrorist attacks in Israel over the weekend.
About 150 to 200 community members and students attended, where a local Israeli American gave a prayer for Israel and others spoke.
“It may seem counterintuitive, but if the recent tragedy in our homeland has you second guessing — 'Maybe I shouldn’t walk around as a proud Jew, maybe I should hide my Jewish necklace, maybe I should take off my kippah, maybe I shouldn’t speak up' — remember this: never once in our history, and I repeat not a single time in our history, has hiding our Judaism ever helped us," Chaim Hilel said, who is the rabbi of Chabad at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. "The opposite is true."
Tears were shed and hugs shared as the sun settled west behind Bishop's Peak, an orange sky fading into darkness; votive candles arranged in the form of the Star of David and along the steps of the University Union building glowing on the concrete.
Attendees recited the Mourner's Kaddish, which is recited in honor of the deceased, and sang the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, meaning "The Hope."
"Only by being proud, by being proudly Jewish, by building our Jewish community by engaging by participating and bringing others to do the same," Hilel continued. "That is how we defeat the menace of terrorism of the people that are trying to scare us and we stand up to their hatred.“
The vigil lasted approximately 25 minutes.
