Did an Israeli Oct. 7 Witness Tell ‘Many Lies’ About Rape and Sexual Violence?
An Israeli reporter says Rami Davidian, a key source in Sheryl Sandberg’s Oct. 7 documentary, told ‘hair-raising stories that never, ever occurred.’
***Warning: This piece includes a discussion of sexual violence.
Video: ‘Screams Before Silence’ on YouTube
“Someone murdered them, raped them, and abused them, here on these trees.” That is what Israeli farmer Rami Davidian tells Sheryl Sandberg, as the pair onscreen examine a set of trees, and a camera flashes to a trunk with a rope knotted around it. The soft, piercing sound of a piano fills the loud silence in between Davidian’s harrowing recollections. “Everyone who sees this knows right away that the girls were abused.” The camera soon zooms out from Davidian’s trembling face. Sandberg asks, "It’s okay?" before embracing the crying farmer.
The devastating account was a central part of Sandberg’s ‘Screams Before Silence’ – a documentary on alleged sexual violence committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. See the relevant clip above.
“This is the most important work of my life,” Sandberg – the storied feminist author and former Google and Meta executive – has said repeatedly about the project she presented.
But according to an Israeli investigative team, Davidian, one of the film’s key sources, is a serial liar.
Davidian rose to fame after being said to have saved over 700 people at the Nova Festival on October 7. Early reports appear to mostly attribute the story to his own words. “As he describes it, he made countless trips, eventually saving hundreds of people,” a November 2023 article reads.
In ‘Screams Before Silence,’ Davidian details to Sandberg a harrowing account of sexual violence he says he witnessed on the day Hamas attacked Israel, describing violated girls tied up to trees. “Over 30 girls were murdered and raped here,” he says as the two walk in a wooded area.
Such a recounting helped propel the movie to be hailed everywhere – from the New York Times and the Washington Post to Chris Cuomo and Donald Trump. It was even shown on Capitol Hill and at the Biden White House, where then-Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a screening. Davidian himself has met with members of Congress in Israel – including former Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, according to an itinerary included in disclosure forms.
And it all likely helped fuel unconditional US support to a military that’s killed tens of thousands, starved and displaced millions, and sexually abused and tortured countless.
But like other elements of Sandberg’s film, the allegations against Davidian provide more reason to cast at least some doubt on the acclaimed documentary.
‘Many Lies’
Earlier this month, Israeli journalist Raviv Drucker shared a promo for a new investigation he did for his Channel 13 program into some of Davidian’s claims since Oct. 7. “He’s considered one of the heroes of October 7th. But did all of this actually happen?” the promotion hints.
But days later, Drucker announced on Twitter that Channel 13 CEO Emiliano Calemzuk pulled the report at the last minute.
Drucker clearly disagreed with the decision, saying he and editor Itay Rom prepared the report "with great sensitivity to every aspect of the story,” and considered all the points of argument: “Why look into someone who rescued people in the first place? Maybe what he went through on October 7 led him to say what he said afterward?"
But the material they gathered “is so strong that it’s important to broadcast,” Drucker said in Hebrew, adding that the report also included “what Davidian did do – and he did do things.”
Israeli outlet Walla reported that, according to inside sources, Channel 13 executives feared harsh reactions to the investigation, and had opposed running the story from the start.
But to Drucker, “the question is very simple. In the current situation, is it permissible to broadcast dozens and hundreds of public appearances by Davidian that include many lies, including false smears against other rescuers of October 7, but impossible to broadcast 50 minutes that have investigated down to the last centimeter for truth?"
"Isn't it appropriate to investigate the story for which Davidian was honored to carry a torch?" Drucker added, referring to Israel’s annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony. "Are some journalists who have come out against this broadcast really interested in Davidian's wellbeing, or did they fear they would run into questions about how they provided a platform for these lies, some of which can be disproved without much effort?"
“These are stories made up from beginning to end. Hair-raising stories that never, ever occurred,” Drucker said.
Rom, via Drucker’s Twitter, spoke out too. “We discovered stories that are breathtaking cinematic scenes, but any connection between them and reality is completely coincidental. We saw hundreds of people thirstily drinking in his words at lectures, shedding tears and clapping hands in excitement and wonder - in response to absurd and fabricated descriptions of heroism,” he said.
“We also discovered that even regarding the highly sensitive issue of sexual crimes committed by the terrorists - a topic in which every lie entangles Israel vis a vis the world, emboldens those who deny the massacre and damages the trust that the world places in the many testimonies and truthful evidence - Davidian doesn’t exactly stick to telling the truth.”
The film’s press team did not respond to a request for comment.