Editor’s Note: Mustang News refers to The Associated Press style and guidelines when reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.
Mustangs United for Israel hosted a speaker on Tuesday who shared her experience surviving the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, marking 500 days since Hamas militants stormed from the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns.
Irene Shavit, 23, spoke about her experiences to an audience of over 100 students and community members in the University Union.
Following Oct. 7, Israel responded with an invasion of the Gaza Strip. There is a tenuous Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in place. Cal Poly has experienced student activism in support of both Israel and Palestinians.
According to Shavit, she and her fiancé, Netta Epstein, were in a town three miles from Gaza. Hiding in their apartment, her fiancé was killed and Shavit was later rescued by Israeli soldiers after being injured, she said.
“It’s taken me a lot of power to stand here and speak, but it makes me happy because when I speak about Netta I can actually feel him next to me,” Shavit told Mustang News. “It’s everything.”
Shavit came to Cal Poly through Faces of October Seventh, a national organization that facilitates connections between survivors and communities, according to its website.
“Hearing it from someone who was there in person was very, very deep,” said Bryse Bentley, an attendee and a nutrition sophomore.
Iliana Treyger, Mustang United for Israel (MUFI) events chair and a kinesiology-public health junior, said hearing Shavit’s story in person further opened her eyes to the situation.
“Obviously you’re going to have chills because she’s just a 23-year-old girl who was in love and supposed to get married,” Treyger said. “Seeing it in person really just shows you the extent of the situation and how people’s lives were changed.”
Additionally, MUFI created a display on Dexter Lawn Tuesday afternoon that included teddy bears pinned with names, along with descriptions and photos of hostages. The display was intended to raise awareness about hostages still in captivity in Gaza, according to Adira Fogelman, MUFI vice president and a business administration sophomore.
The group worked with SLO Hillel, Zionist Organization of America Campus and CAMERA on Campus to organize the display.
“When Oct. 7 occurred last [school] year, it really struck me, and I wanted to be involved,” Fogelman said. “I just want to make sure that as a campus, we are aware.”
Lexi Yaghoubi, MUFI president and a kinesiology-public health junior, said she was grateful to be able to put on the display and help educate others.
“Even though it was 500 days ago, it’s still something that deeply resonates with all of us and we will never be the same after,” Yaghoubi said.
Correction: This article was updated on Feb. 21 to correct a fact in the first paragraph.
