On the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, a tree at Hawthorne Elementary School was dedicated as a living memorial for the victims and those who are still being held hostage. Students, parents and teachers gathered for a ceremony led by the Beverly High School Jewish Club, the Israel Club and the Jewish Student Union. City Council and the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education attended the ceremony to speak and to add a yellow ribbon to the tree, which symbolizes solidarity with hostages in Gaza and is a way of advocating for their safe return.
“As I think back about what has occurred in the last year, and I think about your generation, I just want to say I’m sorry,” said Councilmember Mary Wells at the ceremony. “I’m sorry that at your age, you had to confront this level of hatred and antisemitism and Jew hatred.”
Students also had the opportunity to hang a yellow ribbon on the tree, each one representing one of the 101 victims who are still being held hostage, as Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy explained at the Oct. 8 BHUSD Board of Education meeting. “It’s opportunities like this that really pull us together,” he said.
At the event, Board President Dr. Amanda Stern explained the significance of dedicating a tree as a living memorial. “The Jews have been through tragedies like this over and over throughout history, but we never give up,” she said in her speech. “And just like the Jews, just like Israel, this tree may face floods, droughts—it may be blown by fierce winds—but it won’t be broken; It will grow stronger and stronger every year.”
Wells, a former Board of Education member, left the students with hope for the future as she ended her speech. “I also want you to know how incredibly proud I am of you—how much faith and hope I have in our future and in humanity because of you and what you’re doing and what I know you will continue to do,” she said.
