Marking a year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, Rabbi Isser Kluwgant and professor Sheri Lehavi collaborated to host a meeting for Jewish and non-Jewish students to come together at Pierce College, reflect on the attacks and hear Nova Festival survivor Tomer Zadik’s story.
Zadik is from Tel Aviv, Israel, and attended the Nova Festival last year. He was dancing at 6:30 a.m. when he saw people fleeing from the festival in a panic. Zadik reflected on the moments of terror as he attempted to escape to safety.
“I start driving right towards the south and after three or four minutes of driving, I go before terrorists on the road and I automatically make a U-turn,” Zadik said. “They started shooting midway through the U-turn and I got hit with three bullets in my arm.”
Zadik continued to recall the details of his escape, during which he had fled on foot from the vehicle to hide at a festival medical tent. While at the medical tent, Zadik explained that someone from Hamas had come to the tent and he was left to flee again to safety.
He made it to a tree to hide, and he called his father, who had been an Israel Defense Forces soldier. His father told him to keep running.
“I started running in between the woods, and sprinting, and hiding. I reached an abandoned tank that had about 30 or 40 civilians,” Zadik said. “We waited for another hour and the evacuation car came and we went to the hospital.”
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, and another 250 were taken hostage, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Associated Press, “Israel’s assault in Gaza since Oct. 7 has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, huge areas have been completely destroyed, most of the population have been driven from their homes and hunger is widespread.”
Math professor Sheri Lehavi explained that students shouldn’t be afraid to have hard conversations on campus.
“They can have intelligent conversations and understand the difference, that it is okay to oppose the Israeli government or any government, and to be able to differentiate when students are saying they don’t like a government, versus they don’t think you have a right to exist,” Lehavi said.
Student Services Dean Juan Carlos Astorga introduced himself to the students at the Oct. 7 remembrance event. Astorga explained he wanted them to feel comfortable on campus, to be themselves and to let him know if there is ever a moment they do not feel that campus is a safe space.
“It is my hope and my goal that we have spaces that are safe for everybody, that you can feel comfortable and speak your truths and be respected,” Astorga said.
