Israeli festival survivor Natalie Sanandaji has a message for protesters justifying Hamas atrocities: ‘That’s not going to free Palestine’
Natalie Sanandaji, an American woman who survived the October 7 Hamas attack on an Israeli music festival, shared her terrifying experience with US Newzs Digital. She expressed concern about feeling unsafe now that she had returned to the US, highlighting the role of social media in fueling anti-Semitism and anti-Israel demonstrations.
The 28-year-old Jewish New Yorker, born to Israeli and Iranian parents, explained that his perspective on the Holocaust changed after Sanandaji narrowly survived a deadly Hamas attack. She saw first-hand that some of her fellow festival-goers were no longer alive and was appalled by the anti-Semitic messages that followed.
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When asked if she feels safe now that she’s back in New York, Sanandaji admits that she doesn’t. She described her concerns regarding the content she encountered online, including videos of protests. Regardless of one’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the central problem is Hamas, she asserts, a designated terrorist organization. Sanandaji believes that Hamas is equally responsible for the loss of innocent lives on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
“People need to understand that this is not about Israel versus Palestine,” she reiterated. “It’s a terrorist organization attacking Jews and killing innocent people, killing innocent people at a music festival, killing innocent grandmothers who survived the Holocaust, being killed by Hamas, burning babies alive.”
“That will not save Palestine,” she added. “That will not liberate Palestine.”
Following the Hamas attack in Israel, many demonstrations and events took place around the world.
“The amount of anti-Semitism I’ve seen in videos since coming back to New York, all over Europe and the United States, scares me the most,” Sanandaji said. “For a long time, as a Jew growing up in America, you’re always taught about the Holocaust and how our people behaved and how a lot of people stood by when the Holocaust happened. And you’re taught to never forget. And all my life, I’ve tried to understand how — how the world could stand. How can the world stand by and let that happen? And I’m sad, to begin with now. To realize how and I’m not safe.”
Sanandaji, who has visited Israel many times since she was a child, said this time she was going to a friend’s wedding and decided to extend her trip to spend time with family during the Jewish holiday.
To attend the festival in Reims, she said there was an extensive vetting process and her three friends who accompanied her were already used to the security process. However, none of them expected what would happen after they got back to camp around 3 a.m. to wake up to the sound of rockets with some shut-eye before the morning music set.
Sanandaji described the moment when one of their fellow campers woke them up to inform them that rockets had been fired in their direction, successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The message was that it was normal for their area, hoping that everything was under control and that the festival could resume with only a minor disruption.
She expressed surprise at the unique circumstances in which the youth-participating festival continued despite the rockets being intercepted. The automatic response is, “Oh, it’s normal because of the area we’re in; it happens and it’s okay.”
However, as the sound of the explosions intensified, it became clear that something was terribly wrong when festival security suddenly stopped the music and instructed everyone to get back into their vehicles.
At that time, Sanandaji revealed that they did not know that the terrorists were walking a few feet away armed with guns. She also asked her friends if it was okay to use the bathroom before leaving, and they assured her it was fine. However, she later saw a video of Hamas terrorists entering the same bathroom stalls and opening fire, trying to harm anyone inside. This incident made her realize how close to danger she was. Had she remained in those stalls moments later, she would not have survived.
Sanandaji appreciated the efforts of festival security personnel to evacuate the attendees, acknowledging that many had sacrificed their lives in the process. At one point, security advised everyone to exit their vehicles as the traffic jam presented a very attractive target. In response, she and her friends decide to flee on foot through the desert.
Sanandaji described one of the scariest aspects of the ordeal when they ran in what they thought was the direction of safety, only to find dozens of young festivalgoers running towards them. It is a terrifying realization that these fellows are terrorists and fleeing gunfire. She highlighted the uncertainty of not knowing which decision would save their lives or put them in danger.
At one point, some people asked her friends to take shelter in a ditch, but they decided against it, fearing that they would be trapped if the terrorists came. Later, Sanandaji found that those who had taken refuge in the trench had tragically lost their lives.
Sanandaji and her friends spent nearly four hours in a tense and exhausting cycle of running and walking, punctuated by the sounds of gunfire. Finally, they found a tree where they tried to rest. However, when they notice a white pickup truck approaching, they prepare to face the fate that awaits them.
At first, they feared it might be a terrorist who had come to harm them. They briefly considered getting up but realized there was nowhere to run to safety. So, they just sat there. As they approached the vehicle, they noticed a young woman wearing a festival bracelet in the car. It was clear that it was a man from the town of Parish who left the safety of their town and willingly drove towards the terrorists, risking their lives to try and save them.
They got into the man’s truck, and he drove them to Patish before quickly turning back without waiting for a thank you.
“I didn’t even get a chance to thank him; he turned around and left, putting his life on the line again,” remarked Sanandaji.
Once they reached Patish, the local residents welcomed Sanandaji and her friends with open arms. The community rallied together to offer help and protection. They put them all in a local bomb shelter, ensuring their safety. The townspeople also brought them food and water and gave them tremendous support. In addition, some people read a list of names sent to them from worried parents, family members, and friends who were unable to reach their loved ones attending the festival.
Hamas terrorists are estimated to have taken more than 200 hostages in Gaza.
“You try to realize that there are so many people dancing next to you, you’re having such a good time … you see all their faces in your head, and then you see their photos online days later and you realize they didn’t come out as lucky as you,” Sanandaji said. “They’ve been killed or, worse, kidnapped. And the reason I say ‘worse, kidnapped’ is because many parents, after finding out their child has been killed, say, ‘Thank God.’ To be persecuted is, honestly, a worse fate than to be killed by them.”
Sanandaji claims she stayed at the Patish shelter for several hours while they waited for her friend’s uncle, who was navigating his way through the chaotic situation. Israeli forces have already been deployed to secure the border. Fortunately, a kind man from Patish offered to take them to her friend’s uncle’s place and they were able to return to their original place.
Sanandaji explained that a friend who had arrived in Israel the previous Sunday had a spare ticket to Greece on Monday, which she was able to get. She spent hours at the airport, alternating between being in the terminal and making emergency trips to bomb shelters. Eventually, she succeeded in persuading the airline to change the name on the ticket, allowing her to leave the country.
The experience of flying to Greece was deeply emotional for her.
Reflecting on her emotional state during her journey, Sanandaji shared, “I cried a lot from everything that happened.” She explained that being in such a situation shocked her and that people react differently to traumatic events. Most children cry when they are on fire, but she personally felt more shock during the ordeal.
The intensity of her emotions really hit her when she boarded the plane to Greece. Leaving behind family and friends, especially surviving the festival, and now rejoining the army to continue defending their country and its people is painful. She said she felt helpless, but reflecting on the situation since she left and news stations have approached her to share her story, she realizes there is more she can do to raise awareness of the tragic events. In order to be a voice for those who have been kidnapped and killed and can no longer speak for themselves, she believes it is essential for people to hear from those who were there and witnessed the horrors firsthand.