Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Responsible Storytelling - Hadar Zak's Full Story
Variety
Follow
7/26/2024
Category
✨
People
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Hello everyone thank you for coming here tonight and it is my honor to tell my
00:06
story to you. My name is Adar Zak and I am 25 years old from Kibbutz Kisufim
00:14
located near Gaza. I am here to share my personal experience from October 7th, a
00:20
day that profoundly altered my life. On that fateful day I was visiting a lot
00:29
while my younger sister Tomo was at her workplace. At 6.30 a.m. the skies
00:36
filled with rockets from Gaza Strip. Terrorists branched the security fence
00:41
and started the attacks by motorcycles ATVs and even by air. When I heard what
00:50
was going on I frantically tried everything I could do to contact my
00:54
parents. It wasn't until almost 1 p.m. that I finally reached them. When my
01:01
father's answered me he said there is a lot of gunshots outside and he reassured
01:06
me that they're all in the safe room. After I burst into tears he passed the
01:11
phone to my mother's who always knew how to talk to me and she called my fears. I
01:18
asked where is my younger brother Sagi, the light of my life and she assured me
01:25
they're all safe in the safe room. That was our final conversation. We found out
01:32
later that they died not long after this phone call. They were shot. The house was
01:40
utterly destroyed by the flames and the safe was completely filled with
01:45
smoke giving them absolutely no chance of survival. I learned from my Kibbutz
01:52
security officer that my father's body was found in the entrance in the safe
01:57
room as he had been guarding the doors trying to protect everyone.
02:03
Nearby my mother was holding Sagi and hugged him in the bed and my loyal dog
02:11
Saka was next to my dad. They were also fully blacknessed by the smoke. I asked if I
02:20
could retrieve any personal item from the house like photos albums or Sagi
02:25
kerami creation but a security officer informed me that everything from our
02:31
there was totally destroyed. Now me and my younger sister Tomer are all alone
02:41
and coping is incredibly challenging. I remember my last conversation with my
02:48
father. I shared with him once how my sister is driving me crazy. Yet again you
02:57
know how sibling are always find something to argue about and my father
03:02
will told me how many sister do you have and I will answer him just one and he
03:10
says good so treat it like she's the only sister you have. Shortly after I had
03:16
to provide DNA samples to the police because the only way to them to positive
03:22
the identity of their bodies. The process was obnoxious and why almost
03:29
every person who buried this family we were still awaiting for confirmation
03:35
about my brother remains. It took us two weeks to bury them.
03:42
October 7th changed everything about my life, my existence on this earth. The
03:54
terrorist stole from me my father Itay. He was a hard-working man. He taught me
04:02
the value of family since the day I was born. He only told me that there is a
04:09
priority of his life is family, studies and then friends and I will teach my
04:17
children the same way. My mother Eti, the prettiest woman on earth. No offense to
04:26
my girlfriend but she was. She was the best mom ever. She take care of me and my
04:34
siblings in the best possible way and my little brother Sagi who was only 14
04:42
years old. He was the best part of my life and my favorite dancer ever. I miss
04:50
them dearly every day. After the attack I was evacuated to the Dead Sea with the
04:58
surviving members of my kibbutz. One family has been constant source of
05:04
support for which I am deeply grateful. They first reached out when we are
05:10
sitting Shiva in our family. In our connection at that level suppose grow
05:17
even stronger when Ella Danon, the conduction of the orphan from the 7th
05:21
of October invited me to take part in all the activities and the support
05:26
groups that had offer. Meeting Ella surely been the most rewarding part of
05:36
my experience with my one family. When we got together I can show I can share with
05:43
her what is on my mind. The daily struggles, the intense loneliness, the
05:50
dread of celebrate even a single holiday without my family. Every meeting
05:56
with Ella and every phone call with her gave me the strength to trust her
06:02
and one family and know I will always have someone by my side. When Ella
06:10
invited me to the therapy ski trip to Andorra I felt extremely hesitated. I
06:18
wasn't sure that I was ready to go anywhere or do anything fun like that
06:22
and in any case I had never done ski before. But after everything they had
06:28
already done for me I felt like giving it a try. In our group there were four
06:35
five veterans surviving orphans and five new orphans from the October 7. All who
06:42
lost both of their parents. On the drive to the ski we all share our stories
06:47
and thought what will happen and expectation for the trip and for our
06:53
future. On our first day skis I was placed in the beginner groups with an
07:00
Australian ski instructor. After the first few hours skiing we all met up and
07:06
not only share a ski experiments with one another but also continue to give
07:11
each other support. The strong decision of the older survived to support the
07:17
younger strongly invented and it was my favorite things about the trip and in
07:23
one family that the older take care of the younger even in grave. Just like one
07:32
family event in Israel the group convinced led by Ella every evening on
07:37
the ski trip gave me the strength to keep improving my skiing and I even move
07:42
up to the advanced group. I no longer felt so alone. Somebody was
07:50
really listening to me. The careful planning and the smooth running on the
07:54
trip and the constant support from the staff all helped me focus on healing and
08:01
skiing without being distracted by everyone going around me. It feel like
08:08
skiing become a metaphor for my life these days. With every physical
08:13
difficulty and emotional in a couple mission representing the emotional side
08:19
of my life in a way. Every time I fell on the ski slopes I got up again and it
08:26
filled me a little bit stronger and it taught me a lot. Later I chose to visit
08:32
friends in Thailand so not to be because I didn't want to be in Israel for
08:37
Passover and experience the holiday without my parents and my dear baby
08:41
brother. This was definitely the right decision for me and I stayed in Thailand
08:47
for two months which helped me a lot in the recovery. Even while I was there the
08:55
conversation with Ella continued and at one point Ella invited me to join to one
09:00
family trip to Mexico along with other orphans. In this occasion I couldn't make
09:06
to the trip as it was just too far but it made me incredibly happy just to be
09:12
invited to know that I was part of the family and I always will be included. As
09:21
we transition to a temporary house in Omer, me and my sister Tomer, we are
09:28
finding a way to adjust knowing that one family will continue to be there for us.
09:33
From the ski trip in Andorra to all of the wonderful support groups and events
09:39
and even the Mishloach Manot that Ella gave me at Purim. The support of one
09:44
family is helping me through this tragedy and find a way to live and enjoy
09:49
life with the family that I now have. I want to express my heart's thanks to the
09:56
one family organization and to Ella personally for everything they done to
10:01
help us during these difficult times. Me and my sister Tomer really appreciate
10:06
that and I appreciate you all and thank you for listening.
Recommended
4:12
|
Up next
Responsible Storytelling - Lior Raz on Fauda's origins
Variety
7/26/2024
27:30
Responsible Storytelling - Lior Raz Full Keynote
Variety
7/26/2024
10:55
Responsible Storytelling - Odelia Horgen's Full Story
Variety
7/26/2024
1:45
Responsible Storytelling - Israel Bachar Opening Remarks
Variety
7/26/2024
6:46
Responsible Storytelling - Marc Belzberg speaks about OneFamily
Variety
7/26/2024
1:27
A Story About the Reels - Case Animation All-Star Battle
xataka
8/8/2022
3:04
CONV/RGENCE - A developer's story making-of
JeuxVideo.com
11/17/2021
1:19
Her Story - Tráiler de la aventura interactiva
HobbyConsolas
1/23/2017
2:26
Creation Stories - Tráiler oficial español
FilmAffinity
7/12/2021
0:43
Story Game Clip - Royal Gift
FilmAffinity
6/22/2022
4:27
Dreamfall Chapters - Story Recap
JeuxVideo.com
4/1/2022
1:41
Storyteller - Bande-annonce
Gamekult
7/30/2021
1:19
Her Story - Trailer
FilmAffinity
9/2/2022
2:09
Friendship I Official Trailer I A24 I 2025
ACM Entertainment
7/15/2025
2:31
I Know What You Did Last Summer I Official Trailer I 2025
ACM Entertainment
7/15/2025
1:51
Jaws @ 50 I Official Trailer I 2025
ACM Entertainment
7/15/2025
12:24
500-Pound Girl Is Bullied Until She Decides On An Extreme Way To Become Beautiful
Mystery Recapped
6/20/2024
11:18
In This Bunker, People Must Livestream To Hit 1M Views In An Hour Or Face Death
Mystery Recapped
5/18/2024
12:50
Man Can Give Pleasure To All Women Just By Using His Mind
Mystery Recapped
1/17/2024
13:34
How Well Do 'Alien: Earth's Timothy Olyphant & Noah Hawley Know Each Other?
Variety
today
10:12
The Cast of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Plays 'Most Likely To'
Variety
5 days ago
0:20
Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles talking about loving James Gunn's "Superman" at the ESPYS
Variety
7/17/2025
12:05
Glenn Turman speaks during his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
Variety
7/10/2025
3:51
Don Cheadle honors Glynn Turman at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
Variety
7/10/2025
0:36
Star reveal at the Glynn Turman Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
Variety
7/10/2025