Nova survivors allege antisemitic abuse by UK Border Force at Manchester Airport
Two survivors of the October 7 Supernova festival massacre were detained, berated, and treated with suspicion by UK Border Force officers at Manchester Airport on Sunday, survivor Neria Sharabi told The Jerusalem Post .
Sharabi and his brother Daniel, who, according to Channel 12, had saved dozens of lives by administering medical aid and using the weapons of a disabled tank to fend off Hamas terrorists, were allegedly detained by the Border Force after the officers saw their Israeli passports and the two explained that they had come to the UK to speak to the Manchester Jewish community about their experiences as survivors of the slaughter in which over 260 partygoers were
The Sharabi brothers had hoped to raise awareness for their non-profit to help fellow victims, they said on Tuesday.
“Their faces immediately changed” when the border officers heard the reason for their stay in Manchester, said Sharabi.
“I saw the antisemitism in their eyes from the moment they started interrogating us.” murdered.
They alleged that the officers said they had to detain and interrogate the survivors for two hours because “they had to make sure that you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza, over there.”
When they were first detained, Sharabi asked if they were being treated in such a manner because they were Jews.
In a video taken by Daniel, one of the border officers can be heard telling the brothers, “Nobody has said that once, so knock the attitude off. I’ve made the decision, and you’re coming in. Let us do the checks that we need to do and keep quiet... we’re the bosses, not you.
The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region (JRC), which raised awareness of the incident in a social media post on Monday, said that this comment proved the officers abused the survivors because they were motivated by “antisemitic intent.”
The Sharabi brothers were interrogated for two hours about what they were going to talk about and about their past mandatory IDF service. They were grilled about how long they served in the army and in what roles.
JRC chief executive Marc Levy said in a letter to the Manchester Airport Group that the border officer spoke in an aggressive, “unnecessary, and demeaning tone.”
“I don’t want to come back to the UK,” Sharabi said. “I don’t feel safe here if that’s how they behave – they’re police.”
Levy demanded that the airport investigate the matter and ensure that Israeli passport holders are not subjected to similar discrimination.
“For clarity, the individuals were attending the music festival when terrorists attacked, murdering hundreds of innocent civilians,” Levy wrote in the letter. “Instead of fleeing,
the brothers, one of whom is a medic, remained at the festival site to save others, combat the terrorist, and treat the wounded.”
The Manchester Airport Group told the Post that Border Force personnel are not their employees but because of the seriousness of the allegations, it was in touch with the agency and the Home Office to ensure that the incident was being investigated.
JRC also called on UK Home Secretary James Cleverly to address the issue.
“We are investigating this,” Cleverly told JRC on Monday night on X. “We do not tolerate antisemitism or any form of discrimination. This incident will be handled in line with our disciplinary procedures.”
North West Friends of Israel urged the Greater Manchester Police to investigate the issue as a hate crime.
“This is another shocking incident where UK government employees target Jews and discriminate against them because they oppose Israel’s actions in defending itself in Gaza,” said NWFOI co-chair Raphi Bloom. “In this case, it was a border control officer, and last week, it was nurses at one of Manchester’s largest hospitals. Jews are increasingly scared to identify themselves in public places. The UK government has promised to act on extremism and Jew hate, but so far, these are empty words. These civil servants need to be sacked and the police must investigate them for antisemitism immediately.”
The Home Office, Cleverly, and the Israeli embassy in London did not immediately respond to the Post’s requests for comment.
The Sharabi brothers managed to speak to the Manchester Jewish community about their experiences and their new non-profit to help Supernova festival and October 7 massacre survivors. The organization seeks to help survivors with treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, which the JRC said the brothers themselves are still suffering from. The non-profit is also organizing therapeutic retreats for survivors, with one upcoming fun day set to welcome around 500 of them.
The organization also planned to “send survivors to share their stories around the world,” said Sharabi, “but after what happened, I don’t know if a new bedroom, where they told her she had 40 minutes to produce information or else they would kill her.
Reports of acts of sexual violence committed by Hamas have been told in second-hand accounts by women and girls who were freed in the hostage deal last November, but none have been as explicit as Soussana’s.
Many apologists have denied any reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas, saying if it took this long to bring the allegations to light, they could not be true. Sexual crimes do not always get reported, as the trauma suffered by the victims could take such a toll as to dissuade them from bringing the crimes to light, according to experts.
Many of the victims of Hamas’s sexual crimes either died in the October 7 massacre or are still held in captivity in Gaza.
Currently, there are still 19 women hostages or whose bodies are still held in Hamas captivity: Naama Levy, Shani Louk, Noa Argamani, Romi Gonen, Arbel Yehud, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Doron Steinbrecher, Maya Goren, Ofra Kedar, Inbar Haiman, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, Shiri Bibas, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Emily Damari, Amit Esther Buskila, and Judy Weinstein.
Hamas spokesperson Basem Naim filed a 1,300-word response to the Times regarding Soussana’s testimony. He cast doubt on her allegations and demanded that the newspaper investigate them. He also said such an investigation would be impossible under “the current circumstances.”
Naim questioned why Soussana had not spoken out publicly about the extent of her abuse until now. The level of detail in her account makes it difficult to believe, “unless some security officers designed it,” he said.
Naim also discounted the possibility that Hamas members could carry out such an act because the human body is sacred to them.
“For us, the human body, and especially that of the woman, is sacred,” he said, adding that Hamas’s religious beliefs “forbade any mistreatment of any human being, regardless of his sex, religion, or ethnicity.”
This is not the first instance of denial of the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas. The UN secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, submitted a special report to the UN Security Council that said: “We found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, has been committed against hostages, and we have reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may still be ongoing against those in captivity.”
The report was not classified as an investigation, and the UN Security Council met in mid-March to debate the findings. The report has also faced severe backlash and denial on social media.
In response to Soussana’s interview, President Isaac Herzog said in a post on X: “Amit Soussana speaks for all those who cannot speak. She speaks for all the victims of Hamas’s despicable sexual crimes and abuse. She speaks for all women everywhere.
“The whole world has the moral duty to stand with Amit – and all the victims – in condemning Hamas’s brutal terror and in demanding the immediate return of all the hostages.”