10,000 strangers showed up to a funeral to celebrate the life of a 24-year-old Brazilian-Israeli girl who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival in Israel Saturday.
Bruna Valeanu had recently moved to Israel from Brazil with her mother and sister and was studying communications at Tel Aviv University.
She was attending the music festival near the Gaza Strip when Hamas terrorists invaded the land and massacred more than 1,000 civilians.
Valeanu, who reportedly served as a shooting instructor in the Israel Defense Forces, told family and friends she was surrounded by wounded people amid gunfire.
“The last thing we got was her location via text,” her sister, Nathalia Valeanu, told the Jerusalem Post. “It was a dangerous location, where terrorists came armed in trucks, tanks, and motorcycles.”
“She said she heard a lot of gunshots and had a lot of people injured. And she was in the middle of the woods, but it was a place that was kind of fenced in,” Valeanu continued.
That was the last time anyone heard from her.
By Tuesday, her mother and sister were planning a funeral for her, but didn’t know enough people to hold a Jewish religious service known as a minyan. At least 10 people need to be in attendance for it to take place, CBS News reports.
Volunteers posted to social media asking for 10 people to show up.
“Unfortunately, Bruna Valeanu was murdered at a party in Re’im. She is an immigrant from Brazil, only her mother and sister live in Israel, and needs help completing the minyan for the funeral that will take place tonight. Please, those who can – let them come,” the post stated.
But way more than 10 people showed up.
Bruna Valeanu, a Brazilian-Israeli student, was brutally murdered at the Re’im music festival. Her only family in Israel is her mother and sister. A message went out calling on strangers to attend her funeral to make sure they have a minyan—just ten men.
The result: pic.twitter.com/ZeCciuLi8N
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) October 10, 2023
Ten-thousand people packed out the Petah Tikva cemetery to pay their last respects to Bruna and share in her family’s grief, The Jerusalem Post reported.
“My friend and I went after they wrote that there would be no minyan,” Orit, one of the many people who responded to the post, told the outlet. “During the trip, Waze added more and more travel time even though the road was open, and we didn’t understand why. Towards the cemetery, there was a very big traffic jam and we thought there might be a lot of funerals, we didn’t realize that they were all coming for Bruna.”
“It’s amazing to see how much people care and they don’t just sit at home, even people who didn’t know her. I’m sure it strengthened the family a lot and people should hear it in addition to all the difficult things they hear all day,” she continued.
At least 260 people died at that festival, but authorities expect the number to increase.
The Israeli Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ) expressed their condolences over the deaths of Bruna and other Brazilians killed by Hamas.
“We deeply regret and offer our solidarity to the families of Ranani Nidejelski Glazer and Bruna Valeanu, Brazilians killed in the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, as well as all the victims of the attacks in the country,” read a statement. “We join with all the families who suffered unexpected, abrupt losses, without the possibility of farewell. We reiterate our repudiation of terrorism and we hope that the conflict will end as soon as possible. Baruch Dayan HaEmet.”
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also honored Bruna while condemning Hamas’ bloodthirsty attack on Israel.
“The Brazilian government regrets and expresses its deep regret over the death of Brazilian citizen Bruna Valeanu, aged 24, born in Rio de Janeiro, the second victim of the attacks that took place on October 7th in Israel. In solidarity with Bruna’s family and friends, the Brazilian government reiterates its total repudiation of all acts of violence against the civilian population.”
People also flooded her Instagram page to share their condolences.
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