About 250 people gathered in Palmeira Square, in Hove, to remember those who were murdered in the October 7 attacks three years ago.
A further 3,400 people were wounded and 251 people were taken hostage, some of them held for two years.
The gathering last night (Wednesday 7 October) was organised by the Palmeira Memorial Group, with support from the Sussex Jewish Representative Council (SJRC).
The organisers said: “The service brought together members of the local community to honour those who were murdered and to ensure their memories are never forgotten.
“The strong turnout demonstrated the depth of feeling within the community and the continuing importance of coming together three years on.”
A Brighton and Hove resident who lost two relatives in the attacks on Saturday 7 October 2023 was among the speakers this evening.
Adam Ma’anit’s cousin Tsachi Idan was kidnapped and murdered and Tsachi’s daughter Ma’ayan was also murdered.
He said: “Our city has seen this hateful ‘Zionism is racism’ motion passed just last weekend at the Green Party conference.
“And hundreds of brave Jews and allies came out into the public square to show they’re not going to be intimidated. We will mourn our dead and will not be bullied into hiding.”
The Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Bella Sankey, was among the councillors to join those remembering the dead – and said that the Green Party could be banned from the Brighton Centre after passing a motion there that said: “Zionism is racism.”
Councillor Sankey said yesterday: “I am deeply concerned by the motion passed at the Green Party’s conference last Sunday which rejects the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and rejects a two-state solution.
“I am disturbed that their conference rejected an amendment which sought to protect Jewish members from discrimination and I am appalled that this all took place at our city’s conference centre.
“The Greens’ ‘Zionism is racism’ motion dangerously conflates the ancient and enduring right of Jewish self-determination with the actions of the Israeli government. It is divisive, discriminatory and wrong and it undermines everything our City of Sanctuary stands for.
“We can condemn the Israeli government’s actions and stand firmly for Palestinian freedom without vilifying Jewish self-determination and a two-state solution.
“However, the Green motion is a flagrant attack on the right to religious freedom and may well be unlawful as well as risking the safety of Jewish members and Jewish people more broadly.
“The Green leadership cannot resolve this by simply repeating platitudes and pretending this has not happened.
“My question to the Green Party leadership nationally and locally is: what are you going to do to keep Jewish members safe?
“As a Labour council leader, I will stand up for a Brighton and Hove where everyone belongs. Our Jewish community must not be made to feel alienated or vilified in its own city.
“Our city has rightfully stood up for the people of Palestine and a viable two-state solution but we will never accept anti-semitism in the pursuit of peace.
“Given these developments, I would be deeply concerned about the prospect of the Green Party returning for future conferences in Brighton.
“The Brighton Centre is owned by all of us in the city and should never be a place where people feel excluded due to their religion or beliefs.
“To Jewish residents: we stand with you. Your place in Brighton and Hove is not conditional on passing anyone’s purity test.”
The former Labour leader of the council Warren Morgan said: “Almost 10 years ago, when I led Brighton and Hove City Council, I called out the anti-semitism of individuals taking part in Labour Party conference fringe meetings.
“I’d done the same against the far-right marchers, Islamophobic messages and other forms of racism in the city and it made no difference that what I spoke out against was happening at an event linked to my own party.
“At their national conference in Brighton last weekend, the Green Party passed a motion to formally define Zionism as racism following a divisive debate.
“The actions of the current Israeli government is no excuse for this kind of message.
“The Greens themselves made Brighton and Hove a City of Sanctuary where people could live shielded from the impact of conflicts overseas.
“They’ve betrayed that with this motion passed at their conference in our city.
“Members of the Green Party in Brighton and Hove, their MP and their councillors need to make their positions clear as I did a decade ago, not let the colour of their rosette stand in the way of doing what is right.”
One Green councillor, newly elected Queen’s Park by-election winner Mark Strong, issued a personal statement spelling out his objections to his party’s position.
Mr Strong said: “I strongly oppose the Green Party’s adoption of the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion – both its substance and the process behind such a misguided, divisive policy.
“My main objection is to the simplistic definition that ‘Zionism is racism’, making opposition to Zionism formal Green Party policy. The term means different things to different people.
“Jewish members like me must be able to belong to synagogues and attend community events, without fears that this will automatically be considered racist or lead to disciplinary action.
“Our organisations contain people with diverse views about Israel and Zionism. If Jews are challenged simply because of their identity or associations, acceptable political debate turns into anti-semitism.
“I stand firmly with all Jewish communities, who have faced repeated attacks. Even my own synagogue in Hove needs security guards at services.”
The Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, said that she did not support the motion and not did her predecessor Caroline Lucas, a former leader of the party.
But one of those who put her name to the motion was Green councillor Marina Lademacher who, like Councillor Strong, represents Queen’s Park.
