Survivors of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prominent members of the Israeli Latino community, ambassadors, journalists and others gathered on May 28 at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to watch two episodes of a four-part documentary series titled “7/0 Witnesses of Terror,” which gives a voice to Latinos affected by the attacks. Latinos form the largest immigrant community in Israel directly hit by the Hamas-led terror attacks.
Just weeks after the attack, Fuente Latina filmmakers traveled to Israel and interviewed dozens of Latin American immigrants who survived the massacre in their communities and at a music festival.
“The unique angle of this film is not only that it looks at Oct. 7 through a Latino lens, but also that it delves into the very particular migratory experiences of Latinos in Israel,” explained Leah Soibel, CEO and founder of Fuente Latina. “And it is very interesting to note that this immigrant community constitutes a significant part of the Israeli population and was a fundamental pillar in the establishment of the kibbutzim, the collectivist communities on the Gaza border and the main target of the Hamas attack.”
After the screening, Clara and Fernando Marman, brother and sister, spoke to the audience about their ordeal.
Clara Marman, her boyfriend Luis Har, her sister Gabriela, her brother Fernando, her niece Mia, and Mia’s puppy Bella were all kidnapped from the Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. The women were let go during the first ceasefire in November 2023. Har and Fernando Marman remained captive in Gaza.
“After Clara, Gabriela and Mia left Gaza in the first exchange, we thought it was only a matter of days before we too would be freed. But nothing happened,” said Fernando Marman.
“Then Luis and I started talking about what would happen if they came to rescue us. We imagined where they would come from, where they would enter. We always kept that hope alive, that it could really happen,” he added.
“And then the night of Feb. 12 arrived. It was 1:50 a.m., and we were sleeping. In the room where we were, there was a door that opened onto a second-floor balcony. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard that blew the door open. Since I was sleeping near the entrance, the explosion turned me completely around.”
Marman explained that when he turned his head, he saw some figures shouting at him, saying they were from the army.
He recalls he was held in captivity five times fewer than the hostages are held in Gaza now. “I can’t believe it. Living through this for 600 days is impossible, impossible! We need to reach an agreement as soon as possible,” he said.
The Argentine ambassador to Israel, Rabbi Axel Wahnish, said that he was struck by a phrase from the docuseries: “It was said that the bodies were smoking like in the Holocaust. And if the Shoah brought out the worst in humanity and one thought ‘Never Again,’ Oct. 7 reminded us all as human beings that ‘Never Again’ is precisely now.”
