Hundreds of people attended a vigil in Oxford town centre to grieve for those murdered in Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The event – which began with candle-lighting and a minute’s silence – was co-organised by Ruvi Ziegler, a resident of Oxford and an associate professor in international refugee law at the University of Reading, and Oxford university postdoctoral research fellow Gal Kronenberg.

Oxford Mail: Tributes left to Israeli victims of Hamas's attack

Speeches were given by MP Layla Moran, a British-Palestinian, along with Oxford university professor and director of the Chabad of Oxford Rabbi Eli Brackman, and Rabbi Michael Rosenfeld-Schueler of the university’s Jewish chaplaincy.

READ MORE: Oxfam warns of humanitarian disaster coming to Gaza

Mr Ziegler then read from a letter signed by more than 550 legal experts from Israel and around the world calling on international bodies to demand the release of hostages taken during the Hamas’ attack.

The professor, also a research associate at the Refugee Study Centre in Oxford, spoke about how he organised the vigil.

Oxford Mail: Tributes left to victims of Hamas's attack on Israel

He said: “There’s an Israeli community of sorts in Oxford, particularly around the university, where people come for studies.

“Some people, like me, have been here for a while. We’re sharing the grief from afar in a way that’s meaningful and respectful.

“We were very keen on it being focused on grief and the release of hostages, and didn’t really want to get into the wider debates.

“We decided deliberately not to advertise the vigil in advance because we weren’t sure how much security there would be around, and we didn’t want to put people in harms way.”

Mr Ziegler was touched that Layla Moran came along and gave a speech, emphasising that her voice is particularly important in this matter.

He said: “It was incredibly important having somebody who is a British Palestinian speak in solidarity with the Jewish Israeli community when it’s grieving.

“She spoke in such a moving and compassionate way. It was just great. She sent a really strong message.”

Ms Moran said: “I feel a deep sense of grief as I have watched this shocking tragedy unfold over the past few days. The scale of Hamas’s terrorist activities has been absolutely shocking.

Oxford Mail: Ruvi Ziegler speaking at the vigil (which he co-organised)

“I was honoured to attend yesterday’s vigil. It was an opportunity for our community to come together and share in our mourning.

“All of us with ties to the region are feeling affected by this tragedy, and we stand as a community, shoulder to shoulder, supporting one another.

“If we are intent on helping to bring the violence to an end once and for all, then it is for countries like ours, which has longstanding ties to the region and is deeply implicated in the origins of this conflict, to take a leading role in bringing about lasting peace and a two state solution.

“It is vital that the UK Government does so at this crucial moment.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1