BEACHWOOD, Ohio — The yahrzeit candle that sits atop Susan Borison's mantle burns in memory of the lives taken on October 7, 2023. It's been a challenging year, one that still hurts as deeply as the day it happened. "Today is so loaded on many levels. It's hard to figure out what you are grieving. And it's hard to figure out what you are hopeful about. It's just a really rough day," says Borison.
That's because the conflict isn't over and Susan’s oved ones in Israel are still fighting to stay alive.
"I have two sister-in-laws, a sister, and nieces and nephews who live in Israel," Susan said. "Today, on the one-year anniversary of the worst terror and brutality of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, my sister-in-law heard three rocket sirens. As they were grieving, they were running into the safe room.”
For Susan’s loved ones, it's an every day reality, and something that was hard for Susan to process on her trip to Israel in January.
"We saw the Nova exhibit, which was in Tel Aviv at the time," Susan said. “I walked toward the tents, the actual tents of people who had been murdered, and read messages that people, loved ones, had left by each tent. And it gutted me."
It's difficult to grasp that such terror happened in a homeland with deep connection to the Jewish faith.
"Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people. Even when you've only heard about it or read about it, but you've never actually been to Israel, you still feel connected. These stories of murder and rape and kidnapping, they're not someone else's story. Every single one of them is our story," explains Susan. "My niece said, 'I'm feeling heavy and heartbroken. I wish I could say hopeful, but hope feels a bit far away today.'"
For the first time in her life, Susan says she's experienced anti-Semitism and fear for her safety. While, she says the loss of life on either side is beyond tragic, she doesn't want people to forget what happened on October 7, 2023.
"I also have this feeling that we're losing this storyline and that scares me a lot," Susan said.
Yet, she's finding comfort in the strength of the Israeli people.
"The Israeli people are amazing. They are resilient and they will rebuild. Susan believes in the Israeli people. "There's resilience. And resilience is hope. You don't have resilience if you don't have hope."
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