David Serrero
I was rehearsing my Off-Broadway production “Anne Frank, a Musical,” on October 7th. My show opened three days after the massacres. Having most of my family living in Israel, I discovered that my aunt received a rocket at her house in Ashkelon; luckily, she left one hour earlier to meet her sister. God was above her. Bringing to New York audiences the story of Anne Frank and playing the part of Otto Frank, I felt in my heart and the audience the connection between Anne Frank and the victims of this terrorist attack. I was ending the performances by saying to the audience, “Did we learn any lessons from wars? No. Still to this day, people are killed because of what they are.” I must add that I received an enormous amount of support from my Muslim brothers and sisters, who expressed their support and their hate against Hamas, who are making the lives of Palestinians more miserable than ever. Hamas is the enemy of humanity. I have not received any antisemitism from me directly. Social media is a new battlefield, and I stay away from it. As long as we are together, we are strong. There are no winners in a war; we all lose…it’s about time that people understand it once for all, as we have so much to enjoy being together.