As violence continued in the Middle East yesterday, the Society of Arab Students (SAS) held a tearful vigil on the steps of Memorial Church to mourn the victims of the latest round of strife between Palestinians and Israelis.

"There are a lot of Palestinian students [at Harvard] who have relatives affected by the violence," said SAS Vice President Rita Hamad '03, a vigil organizer.

About 150 people gathered on the church's cold and windy steps to hold candles and listen to speakers describe the experiences of those affected by the violence.

According to the Associated Press, at least 88 people, almost all of them Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, have died in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank since violence erupted Sept. 28.

SAS President Rayd K. Abu-Ayyash '01 said the vigil was solely for mourning the violence and was not political in nature. He noted that the ASA and Harvard Hillel held separate vigils, but said holding separate events wasn't a sign of antagonism between the two groups.

"It is not because we do not stand together, but simply that different people need a different outlet to mourn," he said.

He also said SAS and Hillel would discuss in the coming weeks how the two groups would be working together on campus.

Participants and organizers of last night's event said they were satisfied with the vigil, which drew a wide variety of students.