October 7th Commemoration 2026

The Association of Jewish Psychologists is inviting you to the 2026 Commemoration of the October 7th, 2023 massacre, the bloodiest in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust.

As we commemorate, we especially remember those who were brutally murdered on that day and on subsequent days, and those who survived. We remember the suffering and the heroism. We remember the families who lost loved ones and those who tearfully embraced their loved ones who returned. Tremendous suffering continues in both Israel and Gaza but we look forward to a day when swords can become plowshares and flowers can once again grow in fertile fields.

We remember and highlight Jewish survival and resilience, throughout our 3500 year history, and we look forward to a future in which we vanquish tyrants and we ensure that democracy and freedom flourish in the brilliant sunlight.

Program

Welcome by Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D., AJP President.

Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, Executive Director and Jewish Chaplain, Center for Jewish Life (CJL), Princeton University Hillel, Princeton, New Jersey. Rabbi Steinlauf will speak on the role of authentic, shared, collective memory in Jewish Life.

Ellen Miriam Blau, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Cantorial Soloist. Miriam will sing: El Maleh Rahamim and Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim.

Esti Cole, Ph.D., AJP Director, Executive Committee, will be reciting Yzkor and will read: I remember.

Kohenet Harriette Wimms, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director, The Jews of Color Mishpacha, Baltimore, Maryland, will speak on the topic: לְדוֹר וָדוֹר L'dor V'dor (from generation to generation).

Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Ph.D., AJP President, will share her reflections.

Lenore E. Walker, Ed.D., AJP Treasurer and Shayna E. Davis, Psy.D., AJP Secretary, will present on the AJP Handbook (in progress), Jewish Identity, Trauma, and Resilience: Clinical Psychology Perspectives.

Following a Moment of Silence, AJP community members will be invited to share their thoughts.