From dream to nightmare
Rahav and Moran Stela Yanai travelled from Israel to share their harrowing survival stories at the UIA Women's Division events, held in Sydney and Melbourne this week.
“At some point we have to start looking at the positive things that came out of October 7, and this is definitely one of them,” Michal Rahav told The AJN in a room packed with close to 1000 women.
Rahav and Moran Stela Yanai travelled from Israel to share their harrowing survival stories at the UIA Women’s Division events, held in Sydney and Melbourne this week.
Not knowing what to expect from the Australian Jewish community, Rahav said she was overwhelmed by the support.
“The love that we are getting ever since we arrived here is just phenomenal,” she said.
“I came here with a story, but I’m going back as a double agent – not just to tell my story, but to tell of the support here because I think it’s important that people in Israel understand it.”
Rahav was joined by her three children – Yuval, Noam and Itamar – who held her after she recounted the events of October 7. The family of five, including Rahav’s husband, survived the massacre despite Hamas terrorists entering their home on Kibbutz Nirim.
When the sirens sounded that morning, Rahav armed her children with weapons in the their safe room and told them, “Whatever comes through that door we have to fight.
“My husband gives me his gun and a crash course on how to shoot,” Rahav said.
“At this point I’m putting bullet proof vests on my children. My husband has this kind of intuition, that’s why he had his gun with him and the bullet proof vests.”
When her husband started saying goodbye, Rahav told him, “We’re not saying goodbye – we either leave on our terms, or we die.”
Her husband heroically killed two terrorists in their home, and for the next 17 hours the family survived a barrage of gunfire, grenades and smoke while members of their kibbutz were massacred.
After Rahav told her story, Yanai began hers. She was selling her jewellery at the Nova festival when, at 6.29am, she saw two missiles in the sky.
“That’s when this beautiful dream becomes a nightmare,” Yanai said.
She made several futile attempts to escape, but broke her leg and was eventually captured by terrorists – the moment she was found was filmed, with the horrific video going viral.
“They used tons of violence against me taking me into Gaza,” she said.
Yanai spent 54 days in Gaza and was moved seven times, from house to house. Her weapon was a deck of cards. She challenged the terrorists to games and each time she won, she would ask for food, water or medicine for herself and the 18-year-old Israeli woman she was being held with.
Yanai was released as part of the hostage deal on November 29, but said she is mentally still in Gaza. Her message to the emotional audience was to remember their stories.
“That’s your mission,” she said.
“To never forget what happened and to never forget them.”
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