Siman-Tov said on the day of the attack, he"saw so many lights in the sky" and couldn't tell for the first few moments if it was fireworks or missiles.One of the survivors of the Oct. 7 festival attack in Israel will visit Sarasota next week to share his story at an important local gathering.
Siman-Tov said the 7th day of every month is now a stark reminder of what he called a lucky escape. He said he and some festivalgoers were in the desert early that morning enjoying the music when it was interrupted by gunfire. After the group realized they were in danger, Siman-Tov and his three friends hit the road hoping to find safety.
Siman-Tov said before the gunfire, he spotted a semi-truck stopped in the middle of the road along with several Hamas terrorists on motorcycles with their weapons pointed in their direction. "This started on a specific day. It started on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists came in specifically to kill civilians," CEO of the federation Shep Englander said."We have to remember why we're here and how we got here... that's what the student protesters seem to want us to forget." have called for divestments from Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza, which some have characterized as a genocide.