By sunrise, it became a nightmare.
“The sun came up, and we heard rockets. I live in Netivot. I’m used to rockets. But then the gunfire started, and everything changed.”
Mazal and her friends, Daniel and Yohai, ran toward their cars, then toward the trees. Police shouted, “Shots from the left! Shots from the right!” The sound grew closer. Bullets hit cars and ground. She dropped behind a vehicle.
“I saw a policeman fighting with only a handgun. I ran to him, held him from behind, and cried. Then I realized, something terrible is happening. We’re in a war.”
When the terrorists reached them, they screamed in Arabic and opened fire. Mazal was hit with the butt of a rifle.
“I knew I had to play dead. I stopped breathing. They lifted my face, looked at me, and let go.”
She lay tied up in the dirt as her two friends were murdered beside her. Later, she woke to the smell of fire. The bushes around her were burning.
“When the fire came close to me, I said, ‘Lord, You are with me.’ I ran to an abandoned car and hid there for hours. I don’t know how the bullets didn’t hit me. I survived by a miracle.”
The Miracle of Speaking
Surviving that day might have been miracle enough. But Mazal chose another kind of courage, to tell the truth.
“It’s really hard. But I don’t have a choice. I have to tell what happened to us.”
She speaks softly, without bitterness, but with conviction. Since the attack, she has traveled across Israel and abroad, telling her story in churches, universities, and memorials. She stands before strangers and relives the worst hours of her life so that the world will not forget.
“It’s not about land. It’s not about religion. We came here to dance, to love, to be together. I have to fight to make sure my son has a safe future.”
Like Queen Esther, Mazal didn’t choose her moment but she’s using it. Her voice rises in a world eager to move on, reminding us that truth must be told, no matter how much it hurts.
“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
— Esther 4:14 (NIV)
What Her Courage Teaches Us
Mazal’s story is not only about survival. It’s about stewardship of life, truth, and faith.
She doesn’t ask for sympathy; she calls for clarity.
When we hear her testimony, we remember that courage is not the absence of fear, it’s faith in motion.
And we, too, have choices:
Will we listen to those who suffer?
Will we speak truth when it’s inconvenient?
Will we pray for Israel, not as a headline, but as family?
“I have nightmares every day. It’s as if I was killed, and now I have to be reborn.”
Rebirth, for Mazal, looks like witness. Her voice breaks through apathy and denial. It calls us to remember that Israel’s pain is not ancient history, it’s happening in our lifetime.
Your Step of Faith
You may never face what Mazal did. But you can stand as she does in faith, in truth, in solidarity with God’s people.
When you give to Christian Women For Israel, you strengthen those who strengthen Israel, survivors, families, and modern-day Esthers who shine hope through trauma.
Every prayer. Every dollar. Every voice matters.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, thank You for Mazal Tazazo — for the miracle of her life, for the courage of her voice. Heal her mind and body. Protect her son. And help us be as faithful in our small moments as she was in her greatest trial. Let our witness honor Yours. Amen.
