2 survivors of Hamas attack share harrowing tale in Penn Valley synagogue

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Two survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel brought their stories of survival to a Penn Valley congregation on Tuesday.

They shared their personal stories of the frightening ordeal as part of the event called "Bearing Witness: First-Person Testimonies from the Hamas Attack on October 7."

"There's no more important place to be than right here," said Rabbi Seth Haaz as he introduced the two survivors, Malayan Barkai and Elad Kedar.

Both spent their lives in the Jewish community of Kibbutz Beeri in Southern Israel.

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"It was really like a paradise," said Kedar. "A safe paradise."

But that paradise was shattered at about 6:30 a.m. on October 7.

"The sound of the alarms and bombing. We didn't know what happened," said Kedar.

"We started to hear loud noises bang," recalled Barkai.

The sounds they were hearing were Hamas waging the terror attack that would start the Israel-Hamas War. An estimated 1,200 Israelis died in that attack.

Barkai and Kedar lived to tell their stories, which they shared at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, where members of the congregation and the public came to hear their harrowing tale first-hand.

Some were overwhelmed with emotion.

"I felt like I was holding back tears," said Michele Perlstein after listening to the men speak.

The speakers showed video of Hamas militants roaming through their homes and setting them on fire.

Barkai said he held the door of his family's bomb shelter shut to keep Hamas out. Both he and Kedar are fathers. They say they stayed in their bomb shelters for hours waiting for a Hamas to leave the area.

Kedar's mother was killed while she was on the phone with him as militants approached.

"She told me she sees a lot of them coming, and they (shot) and she yelled 'Stop! Stop!' And the call ended," recalled Kedar of his last conversation with his mother.

Kedar's father was also killed in the attack.

The two survivors were brought here by the Fund for Victims of Terror, a Jewish organization that has provided relief funds for survivors, many within 24 hours of the attack.

Fund for Victims of Terror was created by The Jewish Agency for Israel. They continue to raise funds for victims.

Learn more at www.jewishagency.org.