A Jewish American woman who survived the Hamas terrorist attack on the Supernova music festival that killed at least 260 people in Israel was in Washington today to plead for support from U.S. government officials.
Natalie Sanandanji, a New Yorker born to Israeli and Iranian parents, said she feels “detached” from her near-death experience.
“I do believe that the fact that I feel so detached is what’s giving me the strength to share my story, and for now I’m going to use that strength because I share my story as much as I can,” she told NBC News at the Capitol.
Sanandanji, 28, met with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history.
She said that in addition to humanitarian and military aid — part of a supplemental funding request the Biden administration is expected to announce this week — lawmakers need to speak up about the uptick in violence and threats against the Jewish community.
“A lot of people have asked me if I feel safe now that I’m back in the states, and honestly, the answer is no,” Sanandanji said, referring to pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country.
“This isn’t a fight between Israel and Palestine. This is a fight between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization,” she said. “Killing innocent people is not going to free Palestine, and Hamas is just as complicit in the deaths of innocent Palestinians as they are in the deaths of innocent Israelis.”
Both antisemitic incidents and hate crimes against Palestinians and Muslims, as well as discriminatory rhetoric and threats, have been reported since the war began.
Sanandanji recounted her harrowing experience as she narrowly escaped death nearly two weeks ago.
When she heard the initial rockets, she said, a local told her not to worry — it happens often in that area, and the music would probably resume soon. But minutes later, the rockets only intensified, and Sanandanji was told to get in her car and leave.
“At this point, I thought to myself, ‘We’re going to be stuck in traffic for a while; it’s gonna take a while for us to get out,’” she said. “I went to the bathrooms by the exit of the festival, and a few days ago I saw a video surface of the Hamas terrorists going to those exact bathrooms, moments after I was there, and just shooting at every stall — trying to kill anyone who was hiding. And so that’s one of the moments where it hit me the hardest, how close I was to not being here today.”
After it became clear armed Hamas militants had stormed the area, Sanandanji and her friends ran for four hours to get to the nearest town. They hid under a tree to catch their breath when a white pickup began driving toward them. “We kind of all looked at each other and realized we have nowhere to run to if this is a terrorist. We just kind of all sat back down and accepted our fate.”
But it wasn’t a terrorist. It was a stranger who saved their lives.
“He picked us up. He drove us to his town, and as soon as he dropped us off, I didn’t even have a chance to thank him. He turned right back around to save more kids,” she recalled, holding back tears. “Whether it was God watching over me or whether it was luck, I don’t know. But I’d like to believe that it was God watching over me, and I believe it’s my duty to share this story for all those who can’t.”