Bay Area Jewish community hears from 2 survivors of Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel

Two survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel shared their harrowing story with the Jewish community on Sunday in San Francisco.

Bay Area resident Rebecca Goodman turned out Sunday night at Congregation Chevra Thilim to hear from two October 7 survivors.

“I want to hear their story. I want to bear witness so that when others tell me this, it did not happen, I can say I heard from people who were there,” said Rebecca Goodman, a Bay Area resident and employee of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

People packed the synagogue, hoping to hear first-hand how Eliya and Ziv survived the terrifying Hamas attacks in Israel at the Nova Music Festival.

Both Eliya and Ziv went to the bomb shelter together. They endured all sorts of horrific things because of the attackers.

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“They had thrown grenades into the shelter,” said Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi. “Very few people survived in there.”

Eliya was kidnapped and held in captivity for 505 days.

“Eliya was taken hostage. He did not know what had become of his girlfriend, Ziv, who had stuck in the shelter,” Zarchi said.

His girlfriend survived the attacks in the bomb shelter.

“She either played dead, or she was buried under bodies,” Zarchi said.

After Ziv was rescued, she fought tirelessly to bring Eliya home.

Eliya was finally released and video shows the moment the two got to see each other for the very first time.

“It’s a miracle,” said Siena Naaman Cohen, co-founder and CEO of The Chosen Foundation.

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Jewish community leaders explained why it was so important to bring the survivors to the Bay Area to understand what happened that day.

“For us, it’s just to hear the story. Just after 500 days in captivity I can’t imagine how you survive so many days and still strong,” said Cohen. “It took almost two years to return all our hostages. We had over 200 hostages.”

Ziv and Eliya, now reunited, are speaking around the country to share their incredible survival story. They’re also sharing that they will get married in August.

“They waited until the release of all the hostages were released to begin their celebration of life. It’s such an extraordinary message of resilience, hope and compassion,” said Zarchi.

Those who turned out to hear Ziv and Eliya share their story of extraordinary strength and resilience say it’s a story that others need to hear.

“Now, with all the antisemitism in the world, I think it’s really important that even Americans that are not Jewish stand alongside of them to show support for everything that’s going on. The travesty that happened on October 7,” said Greg Hutchinson, a San Anselmo resident.

Many also say it’s a story that must not be forgotten.

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