In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, the clergy and congregation of the ARIEL Jewish Center in Pikesville was quick to respond. A mere five days later, they held a small rally in support of Israel and launched the ARIEL on the Frontlines fundraising campaign, where congregants and other community members could purchase requested supplies for Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
It’s been nearly a year since that initial event, and like many other synagogues and Jewish community organizations, the ARIEL Center will be hosting a memorial event to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the attacks. But this time, they’ll be joined by someone for whom the events of that day were deeply personal: Matan Boltax, a 23-year-old American resident of Israel who was attending the Nova Music Festival when Hamas launched its attack.
The center will be holding its Oct. 7 Memorial event the day before the anniversary, on Sunday, Oct. 6.
ARIEL Center’s Rabbi Velvel Belinsky connected with Boltax through the Faces of October Seventh organization, which dispatches survivors of Hamas attacks to speaking engagements across the world. These survivors have spoken about their experiences on live media appearances and at events on college campuses.
Boltax is a native New Yorker who moved to Israel in 2009 and served in the IDF until 2022. He managed to escape the attacks through nearby farmland, hiding in the small town of Tekuma for 10 hours.
“He was just living the life of a regular, young Israeli man before he attended the Nova festival,” Belinsky said of his origins. “His escape was miraculous.”
Boltax and Faces of October Seventh could not be reached for comment. In addition to the survivor, Belinsky said that he is currently working on contacting other community members with personal connections to Oct. 7 to speak about their experiences at the memorial event.
Things have changed a lot for the synagogue’s congregants, many of whom immigrated from Russia or have ancestors who did so in the past. The ARIEL on the Frontlines campaign has closed up shop for the time being, as the IDF battalions that the synagogue was in contact with no longer have a pressing need for additional resources. The campaign purchased tens of thousands of dollars in supplies to be sent to Israel before it was shuttered.
“It seems like things have largely normalized over there, so they’re no longer asking for specific supplies,” Belinsky added.
For some ARIEL Center congregants, the IDF’s military operations in Gaza have been deeply personal. One member, Avi Goldberg, has been serving there since Oct. 7.
The synagogue has also added more prayers to its regular Shabbat services.
“We [have seen] much more Jewish pride and Jewish community involvement since those unfortunate events,” Belinsky said. “We recite a special prayer for the Israeli soldiers every time we do services, and we emphasize the importance of voicing our support for Israel.”
He added that over the past year, there have been several antisemitic incidents reported in the Pikesville area — specifically mentioning a few cases involving graffiti. But while antisemitism has been on the rise, it has also seen a surge of pride and unity amongst the Jewish community like never before. Some of ARIEL Center’s events have even seen higher engagement.
Belinsky said that he hopes that hearing Boltax’s message will further inspire people to be proud of their Jewish heritage and identity.
“I hope people will be energized with Jewish pride, and encouraged to express more of their Jewishness,” he said. “We have survived through very difficult times, and we continue to stay on the Jewish path no matter what.”
