Penn Hillel hosted a discussion with Israeli activist Noa Tishby and two survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Credit: Sadie ScottIsraeli activist and actress Noa Tishby moderated a discussion with two survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel at Penn Hillel on Monday.
The March 31 event was part of the pilot program for the “Voices of October 7th” speaking tour, and featured firsthand accounts from Oct. 7 survivors. Tishby moderated the conversation with Noam Ben David, a Nova music festival survivor, and Moran Stella Yanai, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival on Oct. 7 and held hostage by Hamas for 54 days.
“October 7th is such a life-defining moment for anybody who's been through it on the ground,” Tishby said as she introduced the two women.
David and Yanai recounted their lives before the attacks and described the atmosphere of the Nova music festival, highlighting their aspirations and the strong sense of community they experienced. Then, they described the moment on Oct. 7 when the festival turned violent.
“When the sun rises, it's the most wonderful time of every party,” David said. “But at that party, the sunrise was different than we all imagined.”
David recalled seeing rockets and thinking they were fireworks. When the music stopped, she heard screaming and knew something was wrong.
Tishby then asked Yanai to describe her experience in captivity.
Yanai recounted the moment she was brought into Gaza and told the over 200 audience members that she closed her eyes until the "terrorist next to me ... forced me to open my eyes."
“I’d never judge an entire nation [based on] something, but … what I saw as I was entering Gaza was 100% of civilians cheering, celebrating on the streets, from the youngest to the oldest … celebrating evil, screaming, ‘God is great,'" Yanai said.
Yanai described the unpredictability of life as a hostage, emphasizing the mental and physical toll of living in constant fear. She also highlighted the importance of maintaining hope and faith to survive the ordeal.
Tishby then asked David and Yanai for their reactions to the moment they realized that "October 7th was debatable."
“Once I got out of the hospital and I finally saw [people debating], I was shocked,” David said. “I felt even more devastated from inside.”
She recounted the murder of her boyfriend — asking “If it didn’t really happen, where is my boyfriend?” — and emphasized the importance of living life to the fullest in his memory.
“What's frightening, more than pure evil, are those people that deny it,” Yanai added.
The Monday panel was the subject of an “All Out for Palestine Rally” that involved around 75 pro-Palestinian protesters. When the crowd arrived at 39th Street near Hillel, individuals chanted “F**k Penn” and “F**k Hillel.” One speaker said that Penn invited Tishby “with the express purpose of justifying genocide on college campuses.”
“Tishby demands that the Palestinian people lay down and die, that they anguish in Israeli prisons where they are beaten, assaulted, and murdered every single day,” one speaker said at the demonstration. “The genocidal freaks of Penn Hillel welcome these advocates for genocide.”
Tishby acknowledged the demonstration during the event, adding that "we have three times more people here in this room than out in the demonstration."
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