Jewish Club hosted Miri Gad Messika, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamasterror attacks from Kibbutz Be’eri, in Ahmanson Lecture Hall during lunch March 7. Messika recounted her escape from the kibbutz with her family and described the personal transformation that she and her loved ones underwent following the attacks.
Messika’s family has lived at Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel since 1946, with her heritage tracing back nearly three generations to the land. On Oct. 7, Messika, her husband and her children spent six hours hiding in a safe room before terrorists entered their home and tried to breach their safe room door. Messika said if the terrorists had breached the safe room, she and her family would not have been able to defend themselves.
“You must understand how scary it was,” Messika said. “We thought at that time that if they succeeded to open the door, it’s the end of us. We didn’t have anywhere to go, anywhere to hide.”
Messika’s husband placed books beneath the door handle and prevented the terrorists from destroying the lock. When the terrorists could not enter the room, they set Messika’s home on fire instead.
Messika and her family jumped from their second-story window to escape. Despite hearing stories of terrorists setting fire to homes and waiting outside to murder whoever tried to run from the flames, they decided to jump. Messika said she would have rather faced the terrorists than be burnt alive.
“I realized I’m not willing to die,” Messika said. “I knew I wanted to rescue myself and my kids, and I wanted to live. I’m not going to die here today, not from smoke inhalation and not from being burned. If I’m going to die, I’d rather be dying from shooting. It’s a better death, you suffer less.”
Messika’s family did not find terrorists after they jumped out of the window. Instead, Messika’s neighbors rushed from the safety of their home to help the family into their safe room, aiding Messika’s son who had broken his leg in the fall and was unable to move.
That evening, the Israeli Defense Forces evacuated Messika and her family from their kibbutz. Messika said while driving through the ruins of Kibbutz Be’eri, she saw haunting images.
“They took us through the gates of the kibbutz and while we were driving, the driver told us not to look outside the window,” Messika said. “What happens to you when they tell you not to do something? You immediately do it. So, I looked outside the window, and then I understood why he asked us not to. The road was filled with dead bodies. I took my head immediately in, and I tried to erase what I saw. I couldn’t do it, but that’s what I tried to do.”
In her presentation, Messika also detailed the recovery since the Oct. 7 terror attacks. As she displayed a photo of her family sharing a meal, Messika said the photo was taken at the Dead Sea, which sits at 1,300 feet below sea level.
“This picture was taken at the Dead Sea,” Messika said. “ What is the Dead Sea considered to be? The lowest point in the world. You have to understand we were at the lowest point ever. But at the lowest point, what is the only thing that you can do? You can rise up. This is the only thing you can do.”
Jewish Club leader Edward Ward ’25 said Messika’s personal account of the tragedy was a powerful way to convey the gravity of the event.
“ Having speaker events like these are analogous to using primary sources in history papers,” Ward said. “It’s the most direct way to learn about living history.”
Marlowe Kohn ’27, who attended the event, said the presentation from a survivor helped dispel misinformation about the terror attacks.
“We need these accounts of survivors from Oct. 7 because so much misinformation is spreading and there’s so much blame on Israel,” Kohn said. “By hearing [Messika’s] story, you understand that [Oct. 7] is not Israel’s fault. Hamas is a terrorist organization that broke into Israel, and they’re the ones responsible for this war.”
Kohn said she longs for a community where everyone can understand each other.
“Sharing stories is important because so many people don’t know what’s happening or they don’t care,” Kohn said. “I hope, by people listening to our story, no matter if you’re Jewish or not, we build a connection between everyone in the community, and we build empathy, which is lacking right now. Then, the truth will come through.”
