A group of those concerned about the ongoing loss of life in Gaza gathered Tuesday evening for a vigil. WBOI’s Ella Abbott shares the voices of both the area’s Jewish and Palestinian communities.
Members of the community joined the Vigil For Gaza committee in the Geo Garden at Purdue Fort Wayne to hold a moment of silence for all the lives lost since October 7 and speak about the need for compassion and peace, rather than politics.
Farah Combs is a Palestinian who has lived in Fort Wayne since 2010. She helped create the vigil and spoke on behalf of the Palestinian community. Combs pressed the importance that their vigil is not a place for politics or sides, but rather for everyone to come together in their grief.
“We have people from the Jewish community, Palestinian," she said. "We are here with different backgrounds all coming together for the right reason.”
The vigil consisted of a moment of silence for victims of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, several speeches from community members and readings of an Arabic poem and a Hebrew song.
Combs said they hope to bring awareness to the community from a non-political lens and continue to host more vigils in the future.
