On October 7, 2023, the terrorist group Hamas launched a major surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 men, women, and children. Terrorists also kidnapped hundreds of hostages, many of whom are still being held in Gaza as Israel’s military works to eliminate the organization while rescuing its citizens.
Earlier this week, one of the Israelis who escaped during the attack announced that she had received a myriad of threats after speaking out as a vocal opponent of Hamas. During an interview in October, days after the attack, Natalie Sanandaji, originally from Long Island, recounted how she escaped the dance festival in which numerous Israelis were murdered.
Photos from before the horror show 28-year-old Natalie Sanandaji of Great Neck visiting Israel for a wedding, then onto a desert celebration of peace, love and dance music.
At dawn, rockets from Gaza began thundering overhead.
“If this festival happened anywhere else in the world, as soon as they saw those first rockets, they would have ran for their lives. But for these kids, that’s a reality,” said Sanandaji.
Soon came the order from festival security: “Everybody pick up your things and go to your cars,” she said.
First they were sent out one way, then told to turn around. Next, they were told to abandon their cars and run.
“We can’t understand. We’re thinking the fastest way to get out of here is by car, why would you tell us to go on foot? And then that’s when we heard the first gunshots,” said Sanandaji.
Now, Sanandaji is facing death threats and has even been doxxed for her statements against Hamas. During an appearance on “Just the News, No Noise” she said her phone number “was posted on a website and I was getting hundreds of texts and phone calls a day.”
She continued, explaining that most of the messages “were just hate speech saying ‘we’re gonna kill you.’ They were sending me photos of guns, knives, random street corners……saying ‘we’re near your house. We’re coming for you.’”
Sanandaji also indicated that she is being censored for her pro-Israel views.
Ever since surviving the Oct. 7 attack, Sanandaji has been outspoken about her pro-Israel views and against Hamas. She said she believes her views have gotten her shadow banned from Instagram.
“I’ve noticed that I am shadow banned on Instagram and that anytime I’m sharing something about what I’ve been through, I don’t get that many views,” she said. “That’s their way of trying to silence me if they can’t scare me into not talking. They’re going to get me shadow banned, and it’s working and it’s unfortunate.”
Sanandaji’s story comes amid widespread pro-Hamas protests on college campuses. Many of these demonstrations have devolved into violence. She noted that many Jewish students “are escorting each other to class so that nobody’s walking alone” and that “their lives are in danger.”
Columbia and Yale — among many other schools — have been at the center of the pro-Hamas demonstrations over the past week with activists forming encampments on the premises while urging the universities to cut ties with Israel. They have been rife with violence and threats toward Jewish students as antisemitism continues to rise in the world of academia.
The leadership of these schools has struggled to crack down on the protests and anti-Jewish bigotry. Law enforcement has become more involved in the effort to stop the activists from blocking roads and engaging in violence, but the issue has continued to make waves on the political stage.
