Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Amelie Botbol
Alain and Raquel Ohnona Look uncover the plaque bearing the name of their son Alex, murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, in Montreal,Canada
(JNS) — Dozens gathered on Monday in the Montreal suburb of Côte-Saint-Luc to dedicate a park to Alexandre Look, one of eight Canadians among the 1,200 people murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.
“This place which will bear Alex’s name will serve as a beacon of hope and remembrance,” Raquel Ohnona Look, Alex’s mother, told those assembled.
“Let us honor Alex’s memory by rededicating ourselves to the pursuit of peace, by standing firm against hatred, antisemitism and violence, by being loud and proud, and by striving to build a world where future generations can live free from conflict,” she added.
The ceremony was overseen by Côte-Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein and took place between the Chabad of Côte-Saint-Luc and Bialik High School, where Alex prayed and studied, respectively.
Community leaders, including Consul General of Israel in Montreal Paul Hirschson, Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron and Federation CJA president and CEO Yair Szlak, praised Alex’s heroism on Oct. 7.
“It’s been a difficult but remarkable journey for the past 11 months. It is really symbolic to see a place dedicated to Alex’s memory in between this synagogue and the school he went to,” Hirschson told JNS.
“This is where he would hang out while his parents were attending services or would spend breaks from class. This place will be both a place of mourning and celebration of his life,” he continued.
“This is maybe one of the first moments since then where we can start to feel that the community, the Jewish community in Montreal, is putting the pieces together as to how we remember, how we learn to move forward,” he added.
Brownstein noted that while the decision to dedicate the space was made by the Côte-Saint-Luc municipal council, he and his wife maintained a close personal connection to the Look family.
“We met in prenatal classes before Alex was born, and we were friends. We spent a lot of time together, particularly in the years that Alex lived in Côte-Saint-Luc as a child, and it was a tremendous shock to hear that he was killed on Oct. 7,” Brownstein told JNS.
“We felt that we had to do something for the family and for the entire community because we are all hurt. We are all in pain and we hope this place will give Alex’s family, their friends and the entire community somewhere where they can reflect and find some type of comfort,” he added.
About 20 of Alex’s friends traveled to the ceremony from as far away as Israel, the United States and Mexico.
“We had been friends for seven or eight years, I even stayed with him in his house in Cabo San Lucas, and we were in touch every day,” Itay Maor, from Las Vegas, told JNS.
“I came to pay my respects. Alex was a good friend. I would never miss it,” he said.
Michel Harroch, a local resident and family friend, stressed how important it was to have a place to remember those murdered on Oct. 7.
“It creates awareness of what we’re facing and the pain that we’re going through,” Harroch told JNS.
Wearing a T-shirt with Alex’s portrait on it, he explained how distraught the community was at the tragedy.
“We’ve known Alex since he was a baby; we were actually there when he was born. Our children grew up together, we traveled together,” said Harroch.
“Since Oct. 7, our lives have changed dramatically. We became more aware of the dangers the community is facing. We worry about our children being outside or coming back home from school; it’s not the same life anymore,” he added.
