On October 7th, a survivor of a Hamas terror attack on Israel shared their heart-wrenching story of losing their 'angel' boyfriend.

The uncertainty surrounding the events of Oct. 7 in southern Israel persists, causing additional distress and trauma to the Jewish community in Israel, as their stories and experiences are not fully believed.

Noam Ben David, a 27-year-old artist who survived the Supernova music festival terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, stated in a phone interview, "Israelis are mourning about how people won't believe their stories. The entire country is grieving over that."

In an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital, Ben David shared her harrowing story of survival and how she felt an eerie premonition before her boyfriend, David Newman, 25, picked her up at 1:30 a.m. to attend the Supernova music festival in the Negev desert in Israel, just three miles from the Gaza-Israel barrier.

Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday celebrating the completion of the Torah, fell on both Oct. 7 and Shabbat, a day of rest.

On that day, Jewish people began reading the Torah from the beginning. However, Oct. 7, 2023, became one of the darkest days in Jewish history.

The young couple arrived at the festival at 2:30 a.m. Newman, who managed venues in Tel Aviv, helped his artist girlfriend set up to draw at the event. She recalls how happy she felt to be dancing to the music with him even today.

For over a year, they had been in a relationship. She was drawn to his caring and lighthearted personality, which drew others to him, she stated.

After traveling for three months in Southeast Asia, they returned to Israel and recognized familiar faces in the crowd. Ben David described the atmosphere as "like one big family with good energy."

The couple left for a larger stage to dance with their companions at approximately 6 a.m.

The sunrise mirrored the beauty of the event that morning, as she stated.

She thought she heard fireworks — but the thunderous claps were bombs.

"The ideal moment has arrived... Everyone radiates with the sun's glow, and everything looks beautiful. It was an indescribable feeling of pure bliss."

As she reached for her sunglasses in her bag, a friend advised her to gaze up at the sky. She believed she heard fireworks, but the deafening applause turned out to be explosions.

Someone screamed to stop the music and "just run."

She sang a song to him about fireworks while he got her some water and laid something down next to a tree for her to sit on.

"At that moment, she said it was amusing and she needed a bit of humor to relax. We didn't realize what was happening, but we thought it would be like every time - a few bombs followed by the army's arrival."

She remarked that they hadn't anticipated it would be an actual war and that Hamas militants were armed.

A man shouted for them to run a few minutes later.

People were fleeing from their cars and running toward an open field after terrorists began shooting at them while they were stuck in traffic.

‘History repeats itself'

On October 7th, Hamas terrorists attacked the Supernova music festival and brutally murdered, raped, and burned alive 364 civilians, the majority of whom were under 30 years old.

Approximately 40 people out of the 4,000 attendees were abducted and taken to Gaza. On that day, 1,200 people were killed in Israel. Out of the over 240 people who were abducted, about 130 are still in Gaza.

Despite denial of the tragic events of Oct. 7, a recent YouGov/Economist poll revealed that 20% of Americans aged 19 to 29 believe that "the Holocaust is a myth," and over 20% think it was exaggerated.

"David took my hand so we could run faster."

The parallels have been observed by Sheryl Silver Ochoyan, project director of Echoes & Reflections at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.

The Holocaust is the most well-documented instance of genocide in history, as the Germans meticulously recorded their actions. As she remarked, "History has a tendency to repeat itself."

And "those who commit genocide always deny it."

On Oct. 7, Noam Ben David observed Hamas terrorists shooting people and causing them to fall to the ground.

She told Planet Chronicle Digital that David took her hand to run faster, but she fell on her face.

"I was comforted by him as he assured me, 'It's okay, just take a deep breath and whenever you're ready, we'll get up and run. Just relax and it's all good.'"

She said she told herself, "If he's not going to give up on me, I won't give up either. I need to cheer myself up and get up. So I did and we ran."

In the vicinity, two large metal trash cans were discovered, both with their lids open, while explosives were detonating continuously nearby.

"I'm not going to give up if he's not going to give up on me."

She told her boyfriend, "We're going to get inside of one of those trash containers. I'm not going to stay outside — we're going to die," as said by Ben David.

Ben David said that people were already hiding inside both containers, and instinctively, she felt they should get into the container on the left.

We were lucky not to have been in the container that was bombed by terrorists, according to Ben David.

‘Really scared’

The couple remained in the container with 16 others for over four hours. They kept their heads down and tried to be as quiet and unnoticed as possible.

Ben David saw Hamas terrorists with guns screaming in Arabic outside through a crack in the door.

"She told Planet Chronicle Digital that her question was about death or staying alive, and she was nervous. David held her leg and moved his hand to calm her down. She was scared."

She shared their location with her sister, and just before his phone died, Newman messaged a friend in the military to request assistance.

At one point, a girl raised her head and screamed, 'They saw me!'

David pushed me inside the trash bags by holding my hand.

As the terrorists drew closer, she felt the reverberations of gunfire on her head. Ketchup had spilled out onto her, and people were lying on top of her.

Her boyfriend remained vigilant and attempted to soothe the crowd. He guaranteed that the IDF would arrive in 15 minutes to assist them.

"I wanted to get up and help David, but I knew if I got up I would be dead."

Suddenly, the terrorists were there. They stormed into the container.

"I heard a shout, followed by 'Allahu Akbar!' and the first shot. I heard David's last breath. Then I heard a barrage of automatic gunfire. I prayed in Hebrew, 'Please, God, hear me.'"

She stated, "Although I wanted to assist David, I realized that standing up would result in my death."

The young artist exclaimed, "I've never felt pain like this before. It's like a hammer is hitting my head and bones. I got shot on the left side of my hip." Fortunately, the bullet did not remain lodged in her body.

Realizing that everyone around her, including a girl lying motionless beside her, had been killed, she understood that some had been shot multiple times.

Ben David, in disbelief and unwilling to accept that his boyfriend had been killed, shouted at David, "I raised my head and I screamed to him. I screamed. I begged him to answer me, but he did not."

Someone told her that he had been shot in the chest.

‘Bright, like a light’

She recognized the two IDF soldiers as they entered the container with guns, and despite bleeding, she called out to them, the adrenaline racing through her numbed some of the pain.

She was placed at the front of the container and saw her boyfriend.

"Despite his passing, she declared that the most stunning thing she had ever witnessed was David's death. She described him as an angel, with a radiant halo that shone brightly, like a beacon of light."

Ben David believes that Newman's text to his friend, which revealed their location, saved many lives.

As shots were still being fired, IDF soldiers laid her down on the field with the other injured people outside the container. While driving her to an army unit, the soldiers had to fight off terrorists.

Ben David has undergone two surgeries since that terrible day. She was treated at the Beit Loewenstein rehabilitative center in Ra’anana, Israel, she said.

She feels like her one true love is still with her, coaching her through the pain.

She has recently begun walking with crutches after being confined to a wheelchair for several months.

She is hoping to make a full recovery, she said.

She informed Planet Chronicle Digital that she would dance again, this time for David.

"Heaven was where I was, but hell arrived and altered everything in my life, Israel, and everyone else's. This was the man I was supposed to marry and start a family with."

She stated that she believes her cherished one is still by her side, guiding her through the agony.

‘Murdered because he was Jewish'

The siblings of David Newman shared emotional reflections and sorrowful recollections of their deceased brother.

Dvir Newman, 23, described David as his best friend and "literally an angel," someone who consistently put others' needs before his own.

David's older brother, Noah Newman, 30, stated how much he loved life.

"You could find him dancing even in a quiet room all by himself."

Noah Newman also said that David was a very real and honest person who despised gossip and talking behind people's backs.

Batya Newman-Sprei, David's sister, stated that he was content with being transferred to a combat unit while serving in the IDF from 2017 to 2020.

"The loss of their mother to cancer over seven years ago made the siblings extremely close as siblings," she said. "When David got murdered, it was even harder than usual," she said.

"He risked his life. He stayed cool. He helped people the whole time."

David's older brother, Gavriel Newman, is married to Moriah, Jeff Seidel's daughter. According to Jeff, David reminds him of his own son.

"I'm mortified that I may have made fun of him excessively," Seidel admitted. "I only now realize that I had a highly virtuous individual seated beside me."

While the terrorists were shooting, he knew how to respond to the situation, while most people would probably get nervous and freak out. He added, 'He risked his life. He stayed cool. He helped people the whole time.'

"He was murdered because he was Jewish, like everyone else at the party," Seidel added.

Despite his ongoing grief, Seidel stated that he believes David Newman is in heaven.

"In Hebrew, your death was referred to as a Kiddush Hashem, which signifies a sanctification of God's name."

On Feb. 20, Jeff Seidel's daughter Moriah, who is married to David's older brother, gave birth to a baby boy.

David Ori was given the name, which translates to "my light" in Hebrew.

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