Dozens of students gathered at the Hillel Jewish Student Center on Tuesday to celebrate the second night of the weeklong Jewish holiday Sukkot, which fell on the two-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
ASU Hillel hosted its own Sukkot event for the community, while Chabad at ASU and Olami ASU did the same. Though the religious celebration looks different for every person, the week observes the autumnal harvest and God's protection throughout the Israelites' 40-year trek in the desert.
ASU Hillel, Chabad at ASU , Olami ASU, Students Supporting Israel ASU, the Israel on Campus Coalition, Hasbara Fellowships and the Jerusalem Education Institute jointly commemorated the Oct. 7 attack two days earlier to focus on observing Sukkot's message of resilience and gratitude.
"It's the celebration of joy. It's hard to connect that with such a tragedy, but that's the whole point of this event," Benji Sarnovskiy, ASU Hillel's wellness chair and a senior studying finance, said.
Students and staff set up a tent thatched with sticks, called a sukkah, and lit candles to mourn the lives lost on Oct. 7.
Near the sukkah was a replica bomb shelter created from a previous ASU Hillel event. The bunker was painted with words such as "bring them home now," and decorated with gold ribbons and red poppies — a symbol for remembrance.
Arizona U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton joined the students under the sukkah. He also visited ASU Hillel two years ago right after the attacks.
Stanton said it is important to understand Jewish students' perspectives about the impacts that occurred during the initial attack and that continue even now.
"Sukkot is about resilience, and the Jewish people have always been resilient. They turn to community to get through challenging times," Stanton said. "That particular holiday has extra meaning because it overlaps with Oct. 7, where you've seen the families of the hostages just show incredible strength and resilience during the worst possible thing that could happen to their family members."
Sukkot falls on the heels of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, so Sarnovskiy said fewer Jewish students tend to know the holiday.
Ella Berg-Coxhead, ASU Hillel's vice president of external relations and a junior studying global health, visited Tel Aviv through Birthright Israel and was in the country training as an EMT during the Israel-Iran war. The visit heightened her connection to Judaism and helped her gain perspectives that made the war feel more personal, Berg-Coxhead said.
"The purpose of Sukkot is to remind us that all happiness and life is completely temporary," Berg-Coxhead said. "It's about everyone being equal and everyone being reminded of how temporary life is, and that really reminded me of Oct. 7, and it carries more meaning this year."
Correction: This story was updated on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. to add that Students Supporting Israel ASU, the Israel on Campus Coalition, Hasbara Fellowships and the Jerusalem Education Institute were involved with the Oct. 5 event.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Sophia Braccio, Tiya Talwar and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at mosmonbe@asu.edu and sjames51@asu.edu and follow @miaosmonbekov and @sennajames_ on X.
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Senna James is a Managing Editor at The State Press. She is in her 5th semester with The State Press working previously as Community and Culture Editor and Community and Culture reporter.
Mia Osmonbekov is a senior reporter. She previously reported for Arizona Capitol Times, Cronkite News DC, La Voz del Interior and PolitiFact. She is in her 7th semester with The State Press working previously as the opinion editor and assignment editor.
