The Montgomery County Jewish community reflected on Oct. 7 after two years of conflict.
Montgomery County, Maryland’s largest county, maintained a diverse population, both racially and religiously. As of 2024, the county had a 45% Jewish population, which is the largest in the state.
Hazzan Asa Fradkin, the cantor at Congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Maryland, described Oct. 7 as a painful day that still elicits difficult emotions.
“I think a lot of the Jewish community is feeling a great sense of grief over the loss of October 7th,” Fradkin said.
In the summer of 2024, Congregation Beth El suffered two vandalism incidents over a two week period. Fradkin noted the congregation is taking extra precautions this year to ensure that does not happen again, most notably by increasing security funding tenfold.
Fradkin also emphasized the Jewish community’s awareness of the suffering in Gaza and their efforts to provide updates to the congregation.
Rabbi Adam Raskin is the senior rabbi at the Har Shalom congregation in Potomac, Maryland. He shared that his community has become exhausted by all the rhetoric from the war.
“I just think people are tired and disappointed and lonely and eager for this to end,” Raskin said.
Fradkin has also worked as a board member of the Jewish Islamic Dialogue Society, which aims to connect the two communities for conversation. On Oct. 5, Beth El screened the film “A Letter to David,” which tells the story of David Cunio, who is held in Gaza.
Har Shalom is hosting an event on Oct. 7 called “A Circle of Song, Memory and Hope.” Since the day is during Sukkot this year, it will be an especially significant ceremony for those involved.
Raskin said they plan to symbolically welcome those who were lost on Oct. 7, as well as the hostages still in bondage. He pointed to the recent press conference between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a step in the right direction.
Fradkin pushed for open dialogue as the best path forward for peace.
“God gave us two ears and one mouth. Listening is the most effective way to turn the temperature down,” Fradkin said.
