In a solemn ceremony at the Amphitheater of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama, the Israeli embassy commemorated the first year of the terrorist attacks committed by the Hamas terrorist organization against the populations located in the South of Israel.
The event began with a minute of silence in memory of the more than 1,200 Israeli citizens and foreigners killed in the deadly Hamas attacks, including more than 360 young people who participated in the Nova Music Festival.
The Israeli ambassador to Panama, Itai Bardov, recalled that a year ago the unimaginable horrors of October 7 occurred, a day that will be forever recorded in the hearts and minds of everyone, because that day the people of Israel lost fathers, mothers , sons, daughters, grandparents, grandchildren and friends, murdered in the most atrocious and unimaginable ways. “It has been a year in which we have been exposed to images of murdered babies and decapitated corpses, testimonies of the torture, humiliation and sexual abuse perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and stories of the nightmares that the 251 kidnapped innocents had endured in captivity. of Hamas.”
Ambassador Bardov stressed that he does not know how many of the 101 people who remain kidnapped are alive, but it is believed that only half of them. Furthermore, he indicated that after October 7, anti-Semitism has increased, reminiscent of the 1930s and should raise red flags in every human being regardless of their religion, ideology or political belief. “Anti-Semitism is not a political statement, it is not a form of resistance, it is hate, plain and simple and hate, and hate has no place in a just and humane society.”
The Israeli diplomat ended his speech by emphasizing that Israel and its people are together in pain, in the desire for a future in which no child grows up in fear for their identity, in which no community is destroyed by violence and in that one can live in peace alongside the Palestinians, but for that to happen “Hamas must end its control over Gaza and the hostages must return to their homes.”
During the event, those present heard the moving testimony of Diego Engelberd, who traveled from Israel to share the uncertainty he experienced because his sister Karina and his nieces Yuva, 11, and Mika, 18, were kidnapped on October 7 along with his brother-in-law, Ronen. Later, they were released, but sadly their brother-in-law was murdered by Hamas terrorists and his body still remains in captivity.
The ceremony included the presentation of the documentary “Screams Before Silence”, directed by Sheryl Sandberg and Anat Stalinsky, which compiles accounts from eyewitnesses, freed hostages, doctors, first responders, forensics and survivors of the massacre committed by Hamas against Israel and that reveal the sexual violence of which many women were victims during the Hamas-led attack and in their captivity in Gaza.
In the auditorium lobby, 11 paintings by Israeli illustrators and artists were displayed, through which different moments of what was experienced on October 7 were shown. These paintings are a way of expressing how art manifestations also arise in difficult moments and allow us to spontaneously capture the feelings of pain, fear, anger, anguish and anxiety that continue to be experienced after October 7.
