‘We’re all united’: CCU student mourning death of cousin, soldier killed in Hamas attack
As Irene Zohar wove through a crowd of more than 500, she stopped along the way to accept hugs from people she didn’t know, but considered family.
“No matter where we are, we’ll always be united. And that’s what I love about my religion and my people. No matter where we are, even if we don’t know each other, we’re all family,” the 22-year-old Coastal Carolina student said, clutching a bouquet of flowers.
A dual citizen of Israel and the United States, Zohar’s cousin Itay Glisko was killed Oct. 8 in an attack launched by Hamas.
Glisko, 20, was eight months away from ending his service with the Israeli Defense Forces and was taking care of wounded soldiers at a military installation at the time of his death.
Zohar said Glisko, originally from New Jersey, agreed to switch shifts with another soldier the day he died.
It was Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday meant to celebrate the end of public weekly Torah readings as part of Sukkot.
Normally a day of dancing and feasts, Zohar said she’s still coming to terms with the pain of this year’s Simchat Torah and the suffering of Israelis worldwide following Hamas’ violence.
“I don’t even know what I’m feeling. You know, it’s anger, it’s sadness, obviously,” Zohar said. “I’m also grieving. It’s always to be worried and scared, everywhere I am. I have to turn my head multiple times.”
Zohar was among several area residents called upon Oct. 18 to light a ceremonial candle in honor of Glisko at a Stand with Israel rally held at The Hangout, where people lunched on falafel for a fundraiser to support the IDF.
“I am proud to be Jewish, but it’s still scary,” Zohar said.
On Saturday, CCU’s Foreign Policy Forum will host a panel discussion on the wars in Israel and Ukraine.
The 10 a.m. event in room 101 at Brittain Hall is free and open to the public.
The Grand Strand is home to about 5,000 Jews — nearly a third of the state’s entire Jewish population.
Ofra Stanton is among them.
“I really want peace in the world, peace in the Middle East, which is very hard. We’ve been waiting for this for so many years,” the Myrtle Beach resident and Israeli native said. “When I was young, I was in war. But what they did, this is different. It breaks my heart.”
