Around 6 a.m., on October 7, 2023, while she and her friends were having a coffee before heading out to party, the first rockets flew over the head of Laura Blajman-Kadar, one of the organizers of the festival. trance music “Tribe of Nova”, near the kibbutz of Reïm, a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. By taking refuge in her caravan with her husband and friends after hearing the first Kalashnikov bursts nearby, this 35-year-old Franco-Israeli saved her life and that of her loved ones. Hamas terrorists, deployed on the wasteland of the festival, killed more than 300 people and injured more than 2,000 among the 3,000 people present, according to the Israeli rescue group Zaka. Around forty hostages were taken by force to Gaza, some are still prisoners.
His testimony, Believe in life (Ed. Robert Laffont), which comes out in bookstores on March 21, Laura Blajman-Kadar wrote it – from India, where she withdrew to try to ease the trauma -, so that History Never forget this tragedy. And above all, to explain what Hamas terrorists are capable of. Living in a mixed city, meeting Jews and Arabs on a daily basis, the author does not despair that one day, peace will return to the Middle East. Interview.
L’Express: When did you understand that the first shots you heard, on the morning of October 7, were an attack by terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory?
Laura Blajman-Kadar : After the first rocket attacks, we did not panic, because back home, in Israel, these are frequent things. We then said to ourselves “Ah, it’s a shame, the festival is going to end…”. We remained calm, but the situation seemed abnormal to us, because usually a rocket attack lasts no more than ten to fifteen minutes. However, that day, it lasted more than twenty-five minutes.
The atmosphere changed radically when, around 7:30 a.m., we realized that terrorists were shooting at people. Just before returning to take shelter in our trailer, my friends, my husband and I knew we were in imminent danger of death. We quickly learned that one of the first people killed was our friend Abu Ashraf, an Arab; his cousin was screaming that he had been shot. We thought that one or two terrorists were present, and that in about twenty minutes the police would arrive, and it would all be over. Then, watching the news on our phones, still hidden in the caravan, we understood that this is not an attack on the festival, but on the entire country.
Have you seen or heard the Hamas terrorists?
We didn’t see them, only heard them. They passed right by our caravan, and when I said to my friends “Shut up!”, they thought I was hysterical. But after a few minutes, we heard shots and voices shouting “Allahu Akbar”, and the footsteps of a terrorist who was getting closer to us. He tried to open the door of the vehicle, which was closed with a simple plastic lock that was very flimsy. I can’t explain why, but he couldn’t open the door. Then they must have seen someone alive in the distance, they shouted in Arabic “Come here!”, and they left.
Today, is the death toll from the festival confirmed?
There were more than 300 deaths and thousands injured. I know that there is a person who was responsible for security at the festival whose body has not yet been found. He may be a hostage. Today, after almost six months of war, I find it crazy to still not know. Identifying the bodies was very difficult. One of my best friends, a DJ, could only be identified by the ring he was wearing because his body was completely burned.
Are you in contact with festival hostages released during the November truce?
No. Those who were released were not people I knew personally. I have friends who are still hostages, and several are dead. It is very hard to hear the testimonies of those who return, like that of the Franco-Israeli Mia Shem, or Roni Krivoi, both released during the November truce. More and more, the freed hostages are speaking out, and what they experienced is terrible.
Is there group therapy for October 7 survivors?
Along with my friends in the caravan, we are the only group that stayed together and survived together. We did some group therapy at the beginning, to complete our testimonies and reconstruct how the attack on the festival took place. But I stopped, because very quickly, I spoke in the media, and I had the feeling that it had become my role. I am lucky enough to speak French, and therefore to be able to express myself to the French-speaking world. My husband and I have been receiving psychological follow-up separately for more than five months now. But our life stopped on October 7, it has not continued since.
I finished writing the book in India, in a quiet and warm place, to try to breathe, to get some fresh air, but the trauma remains very heavy. For example, as soon as a coconut fell to the ground I thought it was an attack. I jump at everything, everywhere, all the time.
Was it the desire not to forget October 7 that pushed you to write a book?
When I started writing the book, I was convinced that the war would be over by the time it hit bookstores. I never imagined that more than 160 days later, my friends would still be hostages in Gaza. I did it first so as not to forget, and to leave a trace.
A few days after October 7, my cousins in France called me and told me that there were soldiers in front of synagogues and Jewish schools. I asked myself, “Why? What’s the connection?” We have just been attacked in the worst way in decades, and my French cousins can’t leave their house! A few weeks later, I went to Paris, and it’s the first time I was afraid in France. I no longer speak Hebrew with my husband in the streets, I don’t dare say that I am Israeli. This time is so sad. Being afraid of being attacked because I’m Israeli is truly horrible.
So my mission today is to explain to people what happened, because many don’t understand. I live in a mixed city, my neighbor is Arab, I have Arab friends who were with me at the festival. And now that the war is going on, the purpose of my book is to explain why people fight. I feel like I’m serving my country a lot more with this book than by joining the military.
How do you see the situation evolving in the medium term?
We too want the war to end. But it is not possible to talk about a ceasefire without the return of the hostages. There are 134 hostages in Gaza today, and we know that 34 are dead. Among the living, women and babies are still there, including Arabs. I should have been among them, because there was no chance of me getting out of this caravan alive; and if I was a hostage there, I would like to know that people are fighting for me outside. Israel has no right to stop the fighting before these people come home. It is its duty to its citizens. It’s a horrible war, but it’s up to Hamas to stop it, and free the hostages. At the same time, I understand the humanitarian aid provided to Gaza: when I see these orphaned Palestinian children, my heart hurts. They did nothing, just like our children.
What state of mind is Israeli society in?
People are terrified, there are always bombs falling on Israel and attacks. Everyone thinks about the hostages all the time. When I went to India to heal and write this book, I felt a sense of guilt: I was not allowed to heal while our hostages were there. Most people, at least those who came out of the festival, receive a lot of help and psychological support. But it’s impossible to get better, when we know that our friends are not free.
In general, Israelis want silence, peace, although we cannot start talking about peace without having found our hostages. I have always believed in the two-state solution, and I continue to believe in it. When I go to Europe and take my car to go from France, Germany or England, there is no problem. But before getting there, a lot of blood was shed throughout history. I am sure that one day we too will be able to simply take our cars to go from Israel to Palestine.
The aim of terrorism is not only to kill people, but to kill the hope of peace, the hope of life. Palestinians want to live, get up in the morning and go to work, have fun on weekends, in peace. But as long as Hamas is there, it is impossible, since the rights of women and LGBT people do not exist. I hope for the Palestinians and the Israelis that this group of terrorists will be eliminated and everyone can have their own country.
What do you think of Benjamin Netanyahu’s action?
We cannot say that he is loved by the whole country. Concerning myself, I am not a politician: I am a music festival organizer. But whether it’s Netanyahu or anyone else, our country’s goal is clear: bring the hostages home. In no other country would a head of state stop the war without bringing back his hostages.
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