Loyola Israeli Student Alliance Holds Vigil

The Loyola Israeli Student Alliance gathered around the Loyola Peace Pole at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 to mourn the loss of life amidst the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Members of the LISA board passed out electric candles to attendees before gathering the group into a circle. The ceremony consisted of prayers, songs and poems as well as a few speeches from LISA members.

Lauren Viteri, a member of the LISA board, began the ceremony by speaking about immense discrimination. She said Islamophobia and bigotry resulted from the violent conflict in the Middle East, adding that she believes discrimination is never justified.

Viteri said she helped plan the vigil, alongside other LISA members, because she wanted to commemorate all the innocent people who lost their lives. She specifically mentioned a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was murdered in Chicago Oct. 16 in response to the global conflict, according to the Associated Press. 

“I really wanted to do this because it was important to me that we mourned all of the innocent lives lost, not just the Israeli lives, not just the Jewish lives but the Palestinian lives as well,” Viteri said. 

The student president of LISA, who asked to remain anonymous, said hatred is always present, even from a young age, if you are Israeli. They said the goal of the vigil is to pray for peace and coexistence for their Israeli brothers and sisters and innocent Palestinian civilians. 

“In these barbaric times from these atrocities, we must always stand up with love and humanity, not for hatred and bigotry,” the LISA President said. 

The LISA President said the violence affects them personally because they immigrated to the U.S. at 8 years-old, so many of their cousins know people personally who are involved in the war whether through the Air Force or on ground. 

Kelsey Lewis, a fourth-year at Loyola and a member of the LISA board, said she thinks the goal of the ceremony is to provide a space for unity and peace in a time of dividing conflict. 

“I think lately, there’s been so much push everywhere — newspapers, social media — to pick a side,” Lewis said. “And, like, we’ve seen what that does in politics.”

Lewis said she has family in the Middle East who are barricaded in their homes because of the violence. She said she messages her family everyday just to check if they are still alive.

“It’s horrible,” Lewis said. “I’m sad. I don’t want to leave my house, like I don’t want to come to school.”

The first prayer, led by LISA secretary Gracie Frank, was a prayer for healing which aimed to help those who were facing spiritual, physical or emotional challenges. The group also prayed for the Israeli Defense Force and sang Oseh Shalom, a peace prayer. 

Frank said she believes all Jews have a responsibility to care about what goes on in Israel, which is why she thinks the vigil was important. She said the whole situation has made her extremely sad as she thinks about how Israelis and Palestinians have been affected. 

Viteri said she also reflected on her responsibility as a Jewish person to care about conflict overseas. 

“I’m Jewish, so this hits very personal to me, and just a lot of Jews have been murdered during this time,” Viteri said. “And just as a human, a lot of humans have been murdered.”

The ceremony concluded with a prayer for the state of Israel, asking God for protection and peace and the wise counsel of its elected leaders. 

“I think now, more than ever, is so important to have a community,” Viteri said. “And I think it’s so important that we’re gathering together mourning these lives together, being sad together, instead of being sad alone.”

Featured Image by Aidan Cahill / The Phoenix