Students and religious leaders gathered at The Rock on Thursday evening for a candlelight vigil to memorialize the lives lost this year on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The vigil, which attracted nearly 30 people, was organized by J Street U Northwestern, a “Pro Israel, Pro Palestine, Pro Peace” student movement, said Weinberg senior Josh Boxerman, J Street co-chair.

This was the second time in a week members of the NU community gathered to mourn the deaths lost in the violent conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Since the conflict erupted in July, more than 2,100 Palestinians have been killed, along with more than 70 Israelis, according to a United Nations report from early September.

Rabbi Aaron Potek, Associate University Chaplain Tahera Ahmad and University Chaplain Tim Stevens represented Judaism, Islam and Christianity, respectively, at the gathering. Each religious leader spoke during the vigil about the inherent tragedy of the instability in the Middle East, and shared different religious verses.

“No matter how much we divide the blame,” Potek said, “there’s no such thing as perfect people.”

During the event, students also read poetry and testimonials about the international events before holding a moment of silence to remember the victims from both Israel and Palestine.

McCormick senior Jonathan Scherzer said he was moved upon hearing the three religious leaders speak in a row.

“One of the most powerful moments was seeing how three people who may disagree politically and socially are able to come together on the issue of human life as a whole,” Scherzer said.

Boxerman noted that University of Wisconsin-Madison and Oberlin College held similar events this week.

“Our message is one that’s inclusive and accepting,” Boxerman said. “It’s also challenging and will push people to consider narratives they may not be familiar with.”

He said he hopes the vigil’s demonstration of solidarity continues.

“The vigil was successful in that it got people thinking critically about a two-state solution,” Boxerman said.

J Street U is a national student organization with chapters at college campuses across the nation. The group advocates for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine and supports the rights of both the Jewish and Palestinian people.

On Sept. 26, Students for Justice in Palestine also hosted a vigil at The Rock to mourn the conflict’s many Palestinian victims.

Medill junior Tal Axelrod, J Street U co-chair, told The Daily on Sunday that the J Street U vigil is part of a national series.

Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article misstated the date of Student for Justice in Palestine’s vigil. The Daily regrets the error.

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