The siren set the tone for the evening. For two minutes—what seemed like an eternity—more than 200 people stood in the Wolf Theater of the Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center in silence as the siren wailed. This marked the beginning of JEWISHcolorado’s Yom HaZikaron 2025 ceremony—a night to remember, honor, and read the names of Colorado’s dear friends and much-loved relatives who have died in Israel during war or by terrorist attack.
Since October 7, Yom HaZikaron carries even more importance for Jews around the world. The Jewish community of Colorado is no different. On the evening of April 29, people gathered at the JCC to connect with others, to pray, and to grieve.
“The reality is that we will grieve forever,” said JEWISHcolorado President & CEO Renée Rockford. “We won’t ‘get over’ the loss of our loved ones. We simply rebuild around the loss we have suffered. But we will grieve and mourn and follow the customs passed down over centuries. And then we will start living again, as we have been doing for thousands of years.”
In words and song, in ritual and stories, through the memories of Ron Segal, a guest from JEWISHcolorado’s partnership region Ramat HaNegev who experienced a double loss on October 7, the people of Colorado stood in solidarity with the people of Israel to mark Yom HaZikaron.
The Invocation
Rabbi Joshua Margo, President of the Rocky Mountain Rabbis & Cantors, led the invocation.
“Memory and sacrifice are key themes of this day,” he said in his prayer. “When all else is futile, remembering is the action we can take to bring honor and life to the departed. This is the blessing of memory.
“As our Yom HaZikaron commemoration concludes tomorrow night, we will turn our mourning into dancing and begin our celebration of Yom HaAtzma’ut. The juxtaposition of these days speaks volumes about how we, the Jewish people, and our allies, approach loss. We mourn and then, with strength and courage, we build.”
Prayer for the Soldier, Shinshinim memories
Rabbi Susan Rheins, mother of a lone soldier, led the prayer for Israel’s soldiers. JEWISHcolorado’s Shinshinim, who spend a year as emissaries in the community before joining the IDF, spoke about their personal connection to people they had lost to war or terrorism.
Ori Moryosef spoke about the Siman Tov family from Nir Oz. They are the first family in the history of the state of Israel to have three generations murdered in one terrorist attack, including Grandma Carol, parents Tamar and Yonatan, and their children, Arbel, Shahar, and Omer.
“On the morning of October 7th, Tamar was taking care of everyone in the WhatsApp groups while she and Yonatan were critically injured,” Ori said. “Tamar, I’m sorry you didn’t get to do everything you wanted and planned in life. We will continue to try to be better and change the world as you wished.”
Yeara Samoha spoke about the ways that October 7th devastated her school. “My school has lost 13 of its graduates, one of the largest losses any school in Israel has experienced,” she said. “Every one of those young people was a whole world—people with strong values, aspirations and passions, who celebrated life at a music festival or gave their lives to protect the country.
“I’d like to tell you about a special girl, Noam Avrahmovich. She was a caring, determined, strong person who always dreamed of being Prime Minister. Noam was killed while performing her duties as an observer at the Nahal Oz base on the morning of October 7th.”
Shoham Suissa remembered Nadav, a long-time friend she had met on the first day of elementary school. He was out fishing with friends on October 7th.
“At 6:30 a.m., Hamas launched its attack, and terrorists arrived by boat,” she said. “Nadav and his friends tried to hide. He was in the bathroom when the terrorists found him and shot him. Nadav Yosef Hai Tayeb was only 17 years old when he was taken from us. He left behind his loving parents, two brothers, a sister, and countless unfulfilled dreams.”
Yuval Tamir talked about how his understanding of Yom HaZikaron had evolved from the time he was small and didn’t understand the concept of national grief until now, when he is preparing for his time to join the IDF.
“Today it’s more personal than ever,” he said. “Now I know why we have this day. Every day, we show our heroes who sacrificed themselves for us that we are living, that we are continuing, that today is the one day for us to stop and say thank you for what you have done, thank you for giving us this opportunity, and thank you for the families that suffer the insufferable pain every day.”
The last Shinshin, Omri Hadad, spoke the Yitzkor Prayer, and Yeara and Ori lit the Yitzkor candle.
Nelly Ben Tal
As the final notes of “El Maleh Rachamim” and “Kaddish” floated through the room, sung by Cantor Liz Sacks, JEWISHcolorado’s Shlicha Nelly Ben Tal came to the podium. She remembered the 59 hostages still held in captivity, those still alive and those feared not alive. In their honor, she led the recitation of Psalm 121, a prayer for their safe return.
Then, Ben Tal turned to her theme, words she said change everything, words that split time in two: “We regret to inform you.”
“We regret to inform you that they will never call you Ima or Aba again,” Ben Tal said. “We regret to inform you that the Memorial Day will no longer be national for you, it will become personal, more than you ever imagined, sometimes because you know the fallen and sometimes because you walk among those who carry their legacy.
“On this day, when our hearts are heavy with memory, and our spirits are determined to carry on, we turn to personal stories. Stories that remind us that from the deepest cracks, light can still emerge.”
Ron Segal
Ron Segal, accompanied by three of his four of his siblings, traveled to Denver to share his October 7th loss. Segal is a founding member of Sheizaf, a small village in Ramat HaNegev. He grew up in Moshav Netiv HaAsara, south of Ashkelon, very close to the Gaza Strip, and he remembered his childhood as feeling safe with frequent shopping trips to Gaza City. Then, over time, reality changed. With rockets and tunnels, Netiv HaAsara became a border community on the edge of a war zone.
With an hour-by-hour account, Segal related his experiences on October 7, when, within a few hours, he learned that his dear friend Yiftach Gorny had been murdered, killed in battle defending the Gaza border communities, and his mother, Havik, had been shot by a terrorist at point blank range while she was hiding from rockets. Rattled by news of both losses within hours, he ran out of gas and was stranded in the Negev.
“That time I spent there in the heart of the desert was like a bridge—a bridge between my old life and my new life, the life after October 7th.
“In the spirit of these special people I lost, I know and feel that I must choose to follow their path — a path of doing, of positivity, and of love for people.
“Thank you to the people of JEWISHcolorado for being a source of strength and a home for us, the residents of Ramat HaNegev. Thank you for being here for us—we truly appreciate your incredible support over the years, and especially during the war
“You have shown the true meaning of the important Jewish saying: ‘All of Israel is responsible for one another.’”