>> major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM insurance group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSC foundation.

BRIANA: One year of war.

An American Israeli father who used to live in New Jersey describes life since October 7.

His daughter was released from captivity after two months, her husband killed by Hamas.

>> It's unfathomable that he is not with us and it is very depressing.

Together with that, my daughter, wife and I and our grandchildren have displayed incredible resilience.

BRIANA: As the war spreads, New Jersey's Palestinian community reflects on the pain of the last year and tens of thousands killed in the crossfire.

>> As we mark 365 days of genocide, we continue to remember and honor every one of our martyrs.

BRIANA: Also, delayed again.

The new and improved FAFSA rollout is being pushed back, leaving many college students across the state to face financial uncertainty.

And state officials offer a free expungement clinic, helping folks looking for a second chance to start over.

>> There are barriers to folks getting licenses or doing other things to be more productive citizens.

We want to help those barriers be removed.

BRIANA: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> from NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

BRIANA: Good evening and thanks for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few key stories.

Today marks one year since the surprise October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

It was the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, that killed roughly 1200 Israelis and took about 250 hostages to Gaza.

A total of 97 hostages taken captive by Hamas are still unaccounted for, including Israeli Americans from New Jersey.

Today their lives are being remembered in solemn ceremonies across the globe.

In Fair Lawn, the community gathered for a vigil hosted by the Israeli American Council of New Jersey, where they also paid tribute to the survivors of October 7.

In Teaneck, home to one of the state's largest Jewish populations, a group continues to hold the weekly run for their lives walk every Sunday morning.

A Rabbi from the Teaneck Jewish center echoed calls to bring the hostages home.

Governor Murphy and the First Lady also attending memorials this weekend.

All of this happening under the shadow of the escalating war, what's become the greatest up people in the Middle East in a half-century.

We will have more on the lives touched on both sides of this conflict later in the show.

Also tonight, the ports of Newark and Elizabeth are buzzing with activity again.

This was the first full business day back to work for longshoremen after a tentative deal was reached last week putting an end to a strike that shut down major ports along the east and Gold Coast.

Commuters told NJ Spotlight News traffic was backed up near exit 14 for the New York Bay extension this morning on the New Jersey Turnpike, with lines of container trucks making their way into the terminals, ready to be loaded with cargo.

Some of that got backed up during the three-day long strike and delivered to businesses who feared lost sales during the work stoppage.

The tentative agreement between the international Longshoremen's Association and the port owners includes a 62% pay hike over the next six years, but both sides are negotiating language over automation at the ports and have until mid-January to hammer out a final deal.

The candidates for New Jersey's only open U.S. Senate seat went head-to-head Sunday night in their first debate before the election.

Republican businessman Curtis Basch and Democratic Congressman Andy Kim squared off at an event hosted by the New Jersey globe held at Rider University.

It got off to a rough start after Basha fell ill while responding, grabbing his lectern to stay upright.

It was the result he said of not eating all day while on the campaign trail.

But the candidates quickly got back on track, sparring over affordability and accountability.

Bashaw painted Kim as a Washington insider who would not help middle-class New Jerseyans, while Kim hit his GOP opponent on abortion rights, raising doubt about him as a pro-choice Republican.

A recent poll found Andy Kim is better known and more widely liked by New Jersey voters, but the poll also found they both still lack significant name recognition with just a month to go before the election.

NJ Spotlight News will host an event with the two candidates running for U.S. Senate.

It's not a debate, but a conversation talking about the issues affecting you.

We are partnering with Rowan University for the event as we look to boost civility during this divisive election.

David Cruise and I will be leading the discussion.

Watch live on Tuesday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m. on NJPBS and streaming on our NJ Spotlight News general.

As we mentioned at the top of the show, the world is paying tribute to those killed on October 7.

In Israel, many of today's moments of silence were reportedly interrupted by the sound of explosions as the Israeli military carries out airstrikes across the border in Gaza.

For the dozens of hostages still in captivity and their families, there is no end in sight to the struggle.

A Philadelphia born Israeli American grew up in central New Jersey but has lived in Israel the last 50 years.

His daughter and her husband were kidnapped by Hamas during the rampage last year.

Liat was released after two months, but aviv was killed.

It's a sorrow the family lives with, even as they speak out about the way this war is handled.

He joins us now from a kibbutz in the north of Israel about 18 miles from the Lebanon border.

Thank you so much for talking today.

I think it's worth noting that you are joining us right now from Israel in your bomb shelter of your home.

I'm wondering why that is and if there have been any error rates or things like that you have experienced these last 24 hours -- any air raids you have experienced these last 24 hours.

>> Thank you for having me.

I appreciate the opportunity to share my experiences.

Today my wife and I were at a kibbutz, where there was a ceremony for all the members there who had been killed last October 7.

That is 54 members of the kibbutz.

There are still 29 members being held captive in Gaza.

We were with our daughter and grandchildren.

On the way home, in the center of the country, there were a number of air raids, what we call code red.

We were delayed because we had to get out of the car and lie down.

At the same time, there were also air raids in the Western Galilee region where we live.

In order not to interrupt the interview, I decided to set up in the bomb shelter.

BRIANA: Your family, it goes without saying, has had an unfathomable experience.

Your daughter is alive after being held captive, but your son-in-law is not.

Is there any way to describe what these last 365 days have been like for your family and also for so many others?

>> I think the best way to describe -- I can't speak for other people, I think I can speak for myself and my wife to some degree.

We are suffering I guess what could best be defined as ongoing, low-level depression over the loss of Aviv.

Aviv was a wonderful father, mechanic, and artist and his loss is tremendous to his kibbutz, to his family for sure.

And it's unfathomable that he is not with us and it's very depressing.

Together with that, my daughter, wife and I, and our grandchildren have displayed incredible resilience in the face of this loss.

So I am happy to say that first of all, we are all functioning.

My daughter is certainly functioning very well.

She is continuing her work as a history and civics teacher at a high school and she is continuing her work as a tour guide.

BRIANA: You have been very vocal about the politics involved here, the U.S. involvement.

You have met with members of Congress.

You had President Biden z -- President Biden's ear not long after the attacks.

How do you think Israel has handled the situation around the attacks and hostages?

>> I would like to expand that question because the answer is not simple.

In a sense, the answer is not very well.

There are too many things going on in Netanyahu's life that cloud his decisions.

There are too many things that go to define his political at those -- political ethos that are, in my opinion and that of a lot of people, are despicable.

It is clear to everyone that October 7 was a colossal failure for the IDF and intelligence services.

It was also a colossal failure to Netanyahu's concept, which included the idea that the Palestinian issue could be handled in some way without addressing the underlying desire of Palestinians for self-respect , self-determination.

Things that Netanyahu certainly has no problem planning for the citizens of Israel.

There is a cognitive dissonance.

And clearly the whole concept between Netanyahu's leadership of the last 15 years came crashing down.

By the same token, it is clear that Hamas has made some colossal errors of judgment in praising Israel.

It seems to me both leaders are leading their respective leaders down a path that leads to nowhere.

It seems far too many people are caught up in some religious motif that has become their political image.

This is a shame.

There needs to be an alternative.

This is what I am involved in, working towards that.

There are a surprisingly large number of people both in Israel and Palestine who are in favor of this kind of approach, who are really fed up with the leadership.

I don't know if we have majorities, but we are not insignificant.

So there is hope that we will be able to pull this off at some point.

BRIANA: Thank you so much for your time.

A very thoughtful response there.

Thank you.

For Palestinian Americans, the pain and anguish of this last year has been unbearable.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's counterattack, the majority civilians.

It has created a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, shortages of food, water, medicine, and the collapse of the health care system and has unleashed a wider war between Israel and Hamas's regional allies in Lebanon and Iran.

The future of Gaza and Palestinians more uncertain than ever.

On Sunday one thousand people gathered for a rally in Patterson, home to one of the largest Palestinian populations in the country, demanding a cease-fire and justice.

Joanna Gagis has that story.

>> coming together to honor and commemorate one year of Israel's genocide on Gaza, on Palestine.

Joanna: In the years since Israel first responded to the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7, the Palestinian community in New Jersey has mourned the mounting death toll of those killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, estimated 41,000 people.

>> As we mark 365 days of genocide, we continue to remember and honor every one of our martyrs.

For every one or the countless others we may never hear about.

>> We are against this war and we don't want to use our tax money on any killing in the world.

Joanna: The Imam from an Islamic center has lost at least 15 family members during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

>> And Yahoo!, what did you do last year?

Did you bring security and peace?

You did not.

Palestinians lost lives but they did not lose their dignity and we want to liberate our land.

>> Israel bombs, USA pays!

>> Israel bombs, USA pays.

>> How many kids have you killed today?

Joanna: They cited stories of people they call martyrs killed in Gaza the last year.

>> This morning, a young journalist was targeted and murdered.

He was covering the attacks two hours before his death.

Joanna: Mahmoud explaining the death of his older brother and family.

>> I received the news that my brother in his sleep with his family got struck by an Israeli airplane and killed.

>> We were hoping by now we would not have to be protesting, but here we are one year later.

This morning I opened my phone and I saw the bombing is continuing.

So we are not going to stop until it does stop.

Joanna: Huge swaths of Gaza have been destroyed by air rates since October and hunger and disease continue to contribute to the death toll.

Speakers didn't mention the Israeli lives lost in the last year, the division between these communities still apparent.

>> The message, brothers and sisters, is we still take this personally.

We are not tired.

We will not get tired.

And we will keep on working.

>> The Zionist state is a terrorist state and it must be dismantled.

>> Israel has spent decades conditioning the world and us to normalize the death of Palestinians.

The genocide may have escalated in intensity this year but Israel's campaign of violence began long before that.

Before 1948.

For over 76 years, the Zionist state has stolen the lives of our people.

>> what we hope to come out of this day is the world will hear our message, that the problem is a Zionist regime built on stolen land in Palestine and that the only way there is going to be justice for all throughout historic Palestine is the end of the Zionist regime and one state with equal rights for all, from the river to the sea.

Joanna: When you're in, Israel and Gaza don't seem any closer to a cease-fire.

BRIANA: In our spotlight on business report, there is more uncertainty for higher Ed students.

The Free application for Federal student aid, FAFSA, will once again be pushed back to a December release date, about two months later than typically available.

The problems stem from last year's botched rollout, which left scores of students in New Jersey and across the U.S. in limbo about whether their financial aid packages and scholarship money would be processed in time for the start of classes.

I am joined by Hannah Gross, our education and child welfare writer.

Thanks for coming.

What is happening this time?

Students are seeing this and it is sort of like déjà vu from last year.

Hannah: Students and colleges are still feeling the impact of the rollout of the new federal student aid form released last year.

Supposed to get off ground by October 1.

Right now they are going into testing with a small number of students before it's widely available, likely at the beginning of December.

BRIANA: So beta testing.

Is this something that would have helped last year?

Hannah: Yes.

The Government accountability office found it was not properly tested last year and that contributed to some of the issues, so they are working to correct that this year, adding more staff and customer service reps at the federal Department of Education.

Briana: What implication will this two month delay have for students?

Classes have already started.

Hannah: For kids who are current high school seniors thinking about attending college, it compresses the timeline.

Today will have to apply for aid starting in December instead of October.

This will give colleges less time to process some of that financial information and could impact when they are giving out aid offers to students and impact the college decision process.

Briana: You have been on this story for the last year and have had conversations with families, with students.

What type of real-life effect has this had on folks?

What have they shared with you about either not being able to attend a school or putting a school on the back burner because of worries about being able to pay?

Hannah: Initial college decision day of May 1, that came up before a lot of students have received their financial aid offers, so without extensions they would have to make a decision about if they wanted to attend college, where they wanted to attend, without knowing how much that would cost, which is a tough decision to make.

Briana: It is also so compressed.

In order for them to weigh different packages, compare them , I would imagine that time is also limited.

Hannah: FAFSA is used by students, by colleges.

It can help unlock federal aid, state aid, and school specific aid, so it is billions of dollars.

Briana: In your reporting, you have some of the pushback from federal leaders.

What did they want to see happen from the Department of Education?

Hannah: They want to see more support for students who are filling out this application and want to get there aid information in a timely manner, and also for colleges suffering as a result of this.

It has put strain on financial aid offices who have to deal with this in a much shorter time period than usual.

And it has caused a decline in enrollments, especially in smaller private colleges that depend on tuition.

Briana: Let's not forget those folks who have been under the gun.

You wrote about the new graduation requirement.

How does that play in with this application form?

Hannah: It makes filling out FAFSA even more important because the graduating high school class this year will need to fill it out to graduate unless they get an exemption either for them elves if they are 18, from a parent or guardian, or a school counselor.

Last year a little more than 50% of students in the graduating class completed it, so they need to bring those numbers up.

Briana: Big time I would say.

Hannah Gross is our education and child welfare writer.

You can read her full report at njspotlightnews.org.

Having a criminal record, even one that doesn't result in conviction, can affect your ability to get a job, loan, or housing for years after the incident.

The New Jersey office of the public defender recently hosted a free expungement clinic to help offenders with the paperwork and legal resources they need to get a clean slate.

Ted Goldberg reports.

Ted: More than 200 people showed up to a recent expungement clinic, hoping to get all criminal charges taken off their record.

Our comp it opened up doors, because a lot of businesses don't want to work with someone.

You had to have at least five year clearance, seven years, and you were OK.

Some people play hardball.

I got rejected for something that happened in 1975.

Ted: Hardy key drove up from Lakewood, where he runs a cleaning business for medical offices and banks.

He says a nonviolent charge from 45 years ago has kept him from expanding his business.

>> I was 18 and was running with the crowd and it was a shoplifting charge.

I had an expungement done and I had other things on my record.

The other three things was taken off and the one in 1975 was not taken off.

When I went for my nurse's aide license, I was rejected because of the 1975 charge.

>> They have already turned their lives around, already demonstrated a commitment to a law-abiding life.

Ted: These clinics work with people who are five or 10 years removed from certain offenses and help complete a petition package that goes to the Superior Court of New Jersey.

If approved, a court order goes to the state police and the criminal charges are removed from their record.

>> God has given all of us second or third chances.

If there are barriers to people getting Barbara license or other things to be productive citizens, we want to get those barriers removed.

One mistake should not dictate your future in most cases.

Briana: As hinted at by assemblyman Joe Danielson, you can expunge robberies, certain violent crimes, and certain sexual crimes.

For other cases, expungement can meet a world of help.

>> I hear about it all the time, people getting jobs, financing, people going for gun permits.

>> Despite having turned their lives around and living law-abiding lives, an old criminal conviction can serve as a mill around their neck and prevents them from forging forward and finding meaningful work.

Ted: Studies show tangible proof that people's lives get better when their records are cleaned up without harming the communities where they live.

>> Within two years of getting one's criminal record expunged, their salary goes up upwards of 25%.

For those who have an expungement, their recidivism rate is actually lower than that of the general public.

>Ted: Key is hoping for an expungement of his own while encouraging others to reach out if they are curious.

>> Keep trying to clear your name because you never know where it will take you.

That's what I'm doing.

Ted: And trying to move past an old conviction slowing down his business almost 50 years later.

Briana: That's going to do it for us tonight, but before you go, a reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen to us anytime.

For the entire team at NJ Spotlight News, thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you right back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

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And New Jersey realtors, the voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information is online at NJrealtor.com.