This week, the Fresno Jewish community celebrates Sukkot, a lesser known of the High Holidays, that marks, among other things, the end of 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Members of Temple Beth Israel will also meet in the sukkah — the traditional gathering place for Sukkot, a three-sided hut with a thatched roof — praying for the return of the estimated remaining 20 living hostages in Hamas captivity, kidnapped in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“We are paying respect to Israel and the hostages and the families of the hostage,” Rabbi Rick Winer said.

The terrorist attack triggered Israel’s response that continues to this day. The world awaits Hamas’ final response to the proposed ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump.

Winer said he is not optimistic, but “guarded and hopeful.”

“We’ve had a significantly higher security presence than we had previously. And people are on edge. Some people are less comfortable coming to Jewish public space, while other people have felt the need to come to public Jewish space. So it’s an interesting variety,” Winer said.

During the recent Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur observances, a Fresno police car and officer guarded the temple.

Winer recognizes the latest war in Gaza is “complicated.” He said Israel is not united on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has handled the war.

“We can see that it’s certainly not simple and people who want to who want to diminish this into a black or white question are really not understanding how complex the situation really is,” Winer said.

Fresno’s Support Remembered

Less than a week after the attack, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer held an Israeli flag raising at Eaton Park. Several anti-Israeli protesters also gathered, yelling and screaming during the somber event.

Garry Bredefeld, a city councilmember in 2023 who has since won election to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, remembered. He spoke at the flag raising.

“My support continues and always will continue for the state of Israel,” Bredefeld said. “October 7th can never be repeated, and it was a wake-up call that Hamas must be destroyed.”

Bredefeld said Fresno has supported the Jewish community.

“Other people want to attack Israel, they can, that’s their right to do so. But it’s very clear, the moral right is on Israel’s side and they must finish the job or there will be more October 7ths,” Bredefeld said.