Jenny Sividya, a survivor of the Supernova Sukkot Gathering Hamas attack in Israel last fall, spoke about her experience at Emory University on Friday.
A social psychologist and doctoral candidate in gender studies, Sividya attended the music festival in the Negev Desert on the night of Oct. 6, 2023, after gifting her partner tickets. She also attended with brother, Shlomi, and his girlfriend, Lily. The festival stretched into the early hours of the next day until the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the United States and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization, initiated a surprise attack on Israel.
“I was told [the festival] will be heaven, but eventually it turns out to be hell,” Sividya said.
As she addressed Emory community members, she recalled first hearing missiles around 6:30 a.m.
“At first we thought these were fireworks because … there were no alarms or sirens and the music kept on going,” Sividya said. “But one look at the sky was enough to see that these were no fireworks. These were missiles … Not one or two or 10 or 20, as we Israelis are used to, but hundreds of them.”
Soon after noticing the missiles, Sividya said the music was cut short and replaced with security shouting instructions through the speakers.
“They shouted, ‘Everybody that is here, please take your belongings and go back home now,’” Sividya said. “But what they didn't know was that on the main exit of the festival, Hamas waited for those who rushed to go back home.”
Sividya added that by this point Hamas took over the nearby military base, as well as local kibbutzim.
Sividya also paid tribute to Shlomi and Lily, both of whom were killed in the attacks. It took four days for Lily’s body to be found and identified, while Shlomi was not identified until six days later, Sividya said.
Lily was a biologist and mother of six-year-old twins. Shlomi was a senior software engineer and a father of two young sons.
“He had two tattoos,” Sividya said, remembering her brother. “One of the guitar that symbolizes love for music … and the other one said ‘live learn’ because this was one of his two mottos to life. The first one was ‘I work to live, I don't live to work,’ and this is exactly how he lived his life.”
Assistant Teaching Professor and Language Coordinator in Hebrew Pazit Kahlon Shelnutt said she hopes that Sividya's visit will raise awareness about the events at the festival and “open minds” to respectful conversations.
“This is not going against someone that says, ‘Free Palestine,’” Shelnutt said. “The idea is the fact that Oct. 7, by some people, is being ignored and jumping immediately into what happened to the war that opened the day after Oct. 7. People need to recognize what happened.”
Emory-Israel Public Affairs Committee President Sophie Kalmin (26C) noted that Sividya’s speech drew emotional reactions from several members of the audience.
“This reaction that you’re seeing is exactly why it’s important,” Kalmin said. “It’s part of our history now and the fact that this happened in our lives, the least we can do is just pay attention to it.”
Shelnutt also noted that Sividya’s story, as well as her background in psychology, positively impacted many people.
“She managed to basically be a help for other survivors and other families that had fallen members or soldiers,” Shelnutt said.
Sividya visited Emory as part of the “Faces of October Seventh” project. The initiative, founded a couple weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, aims to connect communities across North America with victims affected by the events.
Doron Gertzovski, who works for the project, emphasized the power this initiative has among students.
“We know how much it’s hard to be pro-Israel on campus, Jewish on the campus, and we feel we need to do it right away,” Gertzovski said.
Since last year, Sividya, Gertzovski and other members of the project have visited over 70 other universities in North America, Gertzovski said.
“I hope that all the students and all the world realize and understand what’s happened in Israel,” Gertzovski said.
