Natalie Sanandaj, an American woman who fled the Hamas attack on an Israeli music festival on October 7th, told FOX News Digital about her harrowing experience, and now that she’s back in the United States, it’s never been easier. He continued that he did not feel safe being seen by others. “Brainwashing” on social media fuels anti-Semitism and anti-Israel demonstrations.
Sanandaj, a 28-year-old Jewish New Yorker born to Israeli and Iranian parents, narrowly escaped a deadly Hamas attack and realized for himself that people had to understand how the Holocaust occurred. He said that as a child he never understood how it was possible to forgive. Her fellow festival-goers did not make it out alive and witnessed the anti-Semitic messages that followed.
“A lot of people ask if it’s safe to come back to New York, but it’s not,” Sanandaj said. “A lot of what I’ve seen and heard since I came back. Videos of protests. Pro-Palestinian protests. What I’m saying about it is, no matter which side you’re on.” Israel vs. Palestine Please do your best to resolve the dispute. But this is not an Israeli-Palestinian issue. This is about the terrorist organization Hamas, which is complicit in the deaths of these innocent Palestinians, just as it is responsible for the deaths of innocent people. Hey Israeli! ”
“People need to understand that this is not an Israeli versus Palestinian issue,” she reiterated. “This is about a terrorist organization attacking Jews, killing innocent people, killing innocent people at a music festival, killing an innocent grandma who survived the Holocaust only to be killed by Hamas, killing a baby… It’s about burning alive.”
Israel Defense Forces platoon sergeant talks about attack on Israeli music festival: ‘We were brutally murdered’
Natalie Sanandaj shared with FOX News Digital her experience escaping Hamas terrorists at an Israeli music festival while returning home to New York. (FOX News Digital/Daniel Wallace)
“That will not save Palestine,” she added. “That will not liberate Palestine.”
Numerous demonstrations and incidents occur around the world after Hamas attack in Israel
“Since I’ve moved back to New York, the amount of anti-Semitism I’ve seen on video, the anti-Semitism across Europe and America, that’s what scares me more than anything. As a Jew who grew up in America, for a long time, you always… You were taught about the Holocaust, and you were taught about how our people were treated, and how many people stood by and watched it happen, and you. I was taught that you should never forget, and I have tried to do that throughout my life.”
Sanandaj, who has visited Israel many times since he was a child, said he decided to extend his trip this time to attend a friend’s wedding and spend time with his family during the Jewish holidays.
She said attending the festival in Reims involved an extensive vetting process, but the three friends she accompanied were already familiar with the safety precautions. But no one expected what would happen after they returned to camp around 3 a.m. to get some sleep before the morning music began, only to be woken up by the sound of a barrage of rockets.
“One of the girls from our campsite came and woke us up to let us know that a rocket fired in our direction had been intercepted by Iron Dome. [missile defense system]”Everything was fine, it’s normal for the area we’re in, hopefully it’s just a few cases and then the party will continue,” Sanandaj told FOX News Digital. In the rest of the world, there’s a festival going on, and these young kids are attending, and they see rockets intercepted overhead, and their automatic reaction is, “Oh, there we are.” This is normal for the area.” This happens. it’s okay. ‘”
But when the explosions got louder and festival security stopped the music and ordered everyone to get into their cars, they realized something was seriously wrong, she recalled.
This aerial photo shows an abandoned and torched vehicle at the scene of an October 7 attack on the Supernova Desert Music Festival by Hamas militants near Kibbutz Reims in the Negev desert in southern Israel, on October 13, 2023. ing. (Jack Guess/AFP via Getty Images)
“And at this point, we didn’t yet know that there was a terrorist walking with a gun just a few feet away from us,” Sanandaj said. “I asked my friends, ‘Do you think it’s okay if I go to the bathroom before we leave? It’s going to be a long drive.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, it’s okay. There’s no need to rush. ‘Bathroom.’ ‘I go to the toilet and a few days ago I saw a video of Hamas terrorists coming and firing into that very toilet, shooting all the stalls and trying to kill the people inside. “After that festival happened, I really realized how close I was to death. I could have been in that stall. If I had been just a little bit slower, I might not be here today. yeah.”
Sanandaji praised the security staff who did their best to get the festival participants out, saying most of them lost their lives in the process. At one point, a security guard ordered everyone to get out of their cars because the massive traffic jam was too dangerous. Sanandaj said he and his friends started running through the desert on foot.
“One of the scariest things was when you were running in a certain direction, thinking you were running to safety, all of a sudden there were dozens of kids from this festival running in your direction. and realizing that they are running from terrorists, realizing that they are running from terrorists, that they are running from gunshots, and that the direction you are going is taking you to safety. It means not going,” she said. “I don’t know what decision will save my life or kill me.”
Israeli soldiers search for forensic evidence in the remains of a vehicle that was set on fire at the scene of an attack on the Supernova Desert Music Festival by Gaza militants on October 7 near Kibbutz Rayim in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. (Jack Guess/AFP via Getty Images)
Sanandaj said a group of friends invited his friends to join him in hiding in a ditch, but he declined, fearing there would be no way out if the terrorists arrived. She later learned that all those who remained there were killed.
Survivors of Israeli music festival speak of horror of Hamas-led attack that left 260 dead
For about four hours, she and her friends ran and walked between the sounds of approaching gunfire, until they finally came to rest in a tree. When they notice a white pickup truck approaching, they fear the worst and decide to accept their fate.
“At first we thought terrorists were coming to kill us, and we all wanted to stand up for a second, then we all looked at each other and realized. “Where are you going to run away to?” she said. “So, we just sat there and when the car finally got to us, I saw a girl in the car with a festival bracelet, and it turned out to be a security guard. “I realized that it was someone from the town of Patish who had escaped from the city.” He drove from his town towards the terrorists and risked his life to save ours. ”
On October 13, 2023, in Kibbutz Rem, Israel, the venue for the Supernova music festival, where hundreds were killed and dozens were taken by Hamas militants near the border with Gaza, was destroyed. Cars and belongings are still scattered around. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
They piled into his truck and the man unloaded them with a patish and quickly turned around.
“I didn’t even have a chance to thank him and he just went straight back and risked his life again,” Sanandaj said.
On reaching Patish, the residents there received Sanandaji and his friends with open arms.
“The people of this town really came together to help and protect us. They put us all in the local bomb shelter. They brought us food. They brought us food. People were walking around reading out the list of names from there.”They received phone calls from parents, family and friends who had been unable to reach their children who had come to the festival. It was sent to. ”
It is estimated that more than 200 hostages were taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
“For example, when you notice a bunch of people dancing right next to you and having a really good time together… you see all their faces in your head, and a few days later you see them online. And you see that they were not as lucky as you,” Sanandaj said. “I think they were killed, or worse, kidnapped. And the reason I say ‘worst of all, kidnapped’ is because a lot of parents find out their child has been killed. “I said, ‘Thank God,'” because honestly, to be kidnapped by monsters like this and to be tortured the same way they torture children is… , because it’s a worse fate than being killed by them. ”
On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza by land, sea, and air, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring approximately 2,800 others. Israeli soldiers and civilians have also been taken hostage. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Sanandaji said he stayed in a shelter in Patish for several hours while his friend’s uncle struggled to get a ride, as Israeli forces were already rushing to secure the border. Someone from Patish agreed to give her a ride to where her friend’s uncle was and they returned to where she was staying. Sanandaji said her friend, who had managed to fly to Israel that Sunday, gave her an extra ticket to Greece on Monday, and she was at the airport in between emergency trips to the bomb shelter until she persuaded the airline to give her permission. She said she spent hours there. She is there to change the name on her ticket so she can leave the country.
Sanandaji said being on the plane to Greece was a “very emotional” experience.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I think it’s the most I’ve cried at anything that’s ever happened,” she said. “When you’re in a situation like that, you go into a state of shock. Everyone reacts to things differently. There were a lot of children crying while we were being shot at. I went into even more shock. And a lot of the kids were in a state of shock.”I got really emotional on the plane leaving. She leaves behind many family members and friends. The most emotional thing for me was leaving behind my friends who were at the festival. Who survived that festival and who came back afterwards? They join the military and risk their lives time and time again to protect our country and its people. ”
“It made me feel increasingly helpless. But since I retired, and since many news stations have contacted me and asked me to share my story, what has happened is… “I feel like it’s the most I can do to make people aware, and to hear it from someone who was actually there and witnessed the horror,” she added. . “To speak for all the people who have been kidnapped, who have been murdered, who cannot speak for themselves.”
