The Truth is Our Ally | October 7: A Time to Speak | Press Release
The packed event in London on October 7 made a simple request of its audience: listen to the stories, bear witness, and share them. The least we can demand of people is to speak the truth.
UK-based campaign groups Our Fight and British Friends of Israel came together on Tuesday evening to organise an event which presented stories and testimonies from people who had been directly impacted by October 7. The event made a simple request of its audience: listen to the stories, bear witness, and share them. In his closing remarks, Mark Birbeck said:
What conclusion can we come to other than that October 7 has becoming irrelevant? Our government has recognised a state of Palestine, even whilst Gaza is led by a terrorist organisation, that is bartering with 48 hostages, some of them dead. Share these testimonies. Share the video. The least we can demand of people is to speak the truth.
The full live stream is available here:
Event Details
The event was titled October 7: A Time to Speak. There is a time to mourn and a time to be silent, but now is a time to speak.
Our Fight
The evening opened with the exhibition A Journey Through Tragedy and Resilience chronicling the timeline of events on October 7. The exhibition was conceived and created by Amanda Tragen and Milind Barse.
Present for the exhibition were Reform Party MPs Nigel Farage and Richard Tice, showing their solidarity with the victims of October 7 and with Israel.
The event then continued with opening remarks from Our Fight founder Mark Birbeck.
This was followed by Mark Birbeck interviewing American-Israeli journalist Emily Schrader, who described the confusion and fear felt when waking up on the morning of October 7th to videos and messages from friends and family in southern Israel. She also described her experiences visiting the scenes of massacres in kibbutzim, in her role as a journalist.
British Friends of Israel director Jan Macvarish then interviewed Hila Dee and Elliot Sorene. Both had children who were at the Nova music festival and who narrowly escaped the pogrom. Many of their friends did not.
The audience also saw video interviews with Eran Peretz and Yael Engel Lichi. Eran's son Ido Peretz was murdered at the Nova music festival, and Eran described the need to share Ido's story to keep his memory alive. Yael told of her nephew Ofir Engel, who was taken hostage at only 17, and released after 54 days.
For the final interview, Our Fight founder Mark Birbeck spoke with British journalist Allison Pearson. She movingly read her interview with Shari Mendes — a morgue worker who had prepared for burial the bodies of young women murdered at the Nova music festival. Allison finished by recounting from her interview with former hostage Eli Sharabi. She spoke of his resilience as he tries to rebuild his life, having spent 491 days captive, whilst not knowing that Hamas had murdered his wife and two daughters on October 7.
The evening closed with a call to action, asking the audience to repeat the stories that they had heard and share them with friends, family and colleagues, because "the truth is our ally".
Speaking in-person
Journalist and British Friends of Israel co-founder, Allison Pearson.
American-Israeli journalist and human rights activist, Emily Schrader.
Hila Dee, whose daughter Maayan Dee survived the Nova music festival massacre, but a number of Maayan's friends did not.
Elliot Sorene, whose son also narrowly escaped the Nova music festival.
Video Testimonies
Eran Peretz, father of Ido Peretz who was murdered at Nova music festival.
Yael Engel Lichi, whose nephew Ofir Engel was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri, and released after 54 days.
Facilitators
Our Fight founder Mark Birbeck.
British Friends of Israel director, Jan Macvarish.
Organisations
A number of concerned individuals founded Our Fight in the shadow of the October 7 pogroms. We were shocked at the lack of empathy for Jews and Israelis in the days and weeks that followed October 7, and realised a new organisation was needed — one aimed at convincing non-Jews that anti-Semitism is the most significant issue of our time.
British Friends of Israel was set up by a small group of concerned British citizens in the wake of the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. In response to that terrible day we published The October Declaration which has been signed by 83,000 British citizens and residents. We stand in solidarity with Jews as well as the State of Israel and condemn anti-Semitism. We are completely independent and are not affiliated with any government or other organisation.
