"VIEWPOINT
JILL SAMUELS – 7 OCTOBER 2023 MASSACRE – ISRAEL
“People living in the kibbutz are the most peaceful people in the world. We searched
for peace, lived for peace.”
“If you go to sleep next to a monster one day he will wake up and get you.”
Sagi Shifroni
My base in Tel Aviv was adjacent to a “mamad” - a bomb shelter. The wail of sirens became more frequent before the horrific Hamas terror attack on 7/10/2023. At night I placed my clothes at the end of the bed, prepared for sirens and the 90 second dash to the safety of my mamad. Outside I became accustomed to throwing myself to the ground, my hands shielding my head, scenes rarely captured by the media. Rocket strikes are the way of life.
Simultaneously young people busy buying tickets to attend the annual Nova Music Festival. Over the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, set in an open space, the festival had the atmosphere of a modern-day Woodstock. World Famous DJs signed up and flew into Israel , along with people from all nationalities and faiths to attend this “happening”.
Early on 7 October 2023, I awoke to the roar of planes overhead, helicopters and F-16s filling the sky. Police and ambulance sirens blared non-stop. The news felt like an action movie with people gliding in from Gaza. Hamas invaded three separate kibbutzim along the Southern border. Israeli anchormen visually shocked. Hamas proudly placed bodycam footage of horrific acts online of terrorists on motorbikes storming homes, burning children, and torturing people.
Separately hundreds attempted to flee the festival. Rockets rained from above. Bullets sprayed. Young people blood-soaked. The festival became a memorial of the murdered, raped, and kidnapped, breaking news worldwide. Within hours Israeli ex-pats and army reservist returned to fight for their country. Amidst the chaos people of all faiths flew into Israel to help including the HaYoval Christian Cowboys of Montana. In the hallway of my building people wandered dazed as the news broke: Hamas had burned homes and residents to death, echoing the Holocaust. People wept.
A massacre against not only the Jewish people but against music and peace-loving people simply by association to Israel. Hamas murdered and kidnapped multiple nationalities and faiths including Muslims, of which still remain held hostage today. Victim’s phones were used to film their beating and execution, the footage sent to their contacts including family members.
I walked into the street filled with young men and women in army uniforms reporting for duty. Sirens blared as rockets fired. Hamas had attacked the Nova Music Festival and three kibbutzim nearby murdering, raping, and kidnapping. Filming hostages on the back of motorcycles disappearing into Gaza. As the story unravelled it transpired that Hamas had brutally raped many women. I thought, international women’s groups where are you? Now is your time! The cries of these women and girls fell on deaf ears. They have been failed.
Within hours incredible scenes of a country united were taking place. Young people, mainly women in their early twenties, had basically taken over running the country .Setting up donation drop-off points for thousands of displaced border residents. The Ethiopian, Indian, Druze all communities united. Volunteers of all ages and walks of life offered their services.
A businessman donated a building to operate independently from the Government, manned by volunteers. The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum was formed and became my home, a place to meet families and survivors. I recorded their testimonies with my phone. Their reality shook me. They shared horrific footage of their loved ones sent to them by Hamas, footage no one should ever have to see.
A media division was set up by professional volunteers, the Bring Them Home Now campaign launched worldwide. I was taken to the site of the festival with a small group of journalists and traumatised families all trying to process and piece together what had happened. Bullets littered the ground. Horrific stories were shared in detail.
One family shared how their nephew having secured work at the festival was living with his grandparents, Holocaust survivors. He was last seen with a noose around his neck, beaten and being taken to Gaza. Shaking, she showed me the footage Hamas sent from his phone to all his contacts, including his grandfather. When his grandfather received the horrifying video, it triggered a heart attack and stroke, taking him back to memories in the concentration camp.
Sagi and his children were born in Kibbutz Be’eri. A clear-thinking and calm man who would do anything to save the life of Dror, his 5-year-old daughter. Injured in the attack, he contacted his uncle for medical advice, who was later found murdered with his aunt. Gaunt and traumatised, Sagi was receiving treatment in hospital when he granted me access to film his journey, creating the documentary Saving Dror.
The harrowing story of a man who came face to face with Hamas fighters only to escape and be targeted again. A man desperate to save the life of his daughter, who had lost many family members in the massacre. Yet a man who does not hate, hoping his friends from Gaza are alive, longing for peace.
These stories took me into uncharted territory. Life is fragile. Be kind. Do not leave things unresolved. No one could have anticipated that day. Family members and loved ones are now left to live with the final words they exchanged with those they lost.
This film could not have been made without Stan More (Editor), Simon Hunt (Post-Production & Graphics) Samantha Daniel (Script Editor) Twickenham Studios who donated their services. Streamer ChaiFlicks for streaming the film and directing all profits to NGOs supporting survivors of Be’eri Kibbutz.
We must Bring Them Home Now!"
