Bruna Valeanu moved to Israel from Brazil 10 years ago, reportedly in search of a safer life. She served as a shooting instructor in the Israeli army and was studying at Tel Aviv University.
On October 7, she went to the Universo Paralello music festival, which took place in the desert near the Gaza Strip. During an attack by Hamas militants on the festivalgoers, at least 260 people were killed, including Bruna. In her last message from the festival, as reported by her friends and colleagues, she wrote that she was surrounded by armed individuals. After that, contact with her was lost.
Photo: Bruna Valeanu​ Instagram page
In Israel, the young woman only had her mother and sister. They were concerned that there wouldn't be many people at her funeral, and volunteers who were helping them posted a request for a minyan - the quorum of at least 10 adult men required for a funeral ceremony. In the end, around 10,000 people attended the funeral, as reported by the Israeli channel N12.
One of the organizers of the volunteer squads, "Zaka," Max Brodsky, mentioned that he also saw a message expressing concern from Bruno's friends that there wouldn't be a minyan. He and his son decided to go and join the minyan, and he added that a few thousand others had the same idea and came to the cemetery.
"Thousands! Thousands of people are coming! They parked their cars several kilometers away from the cemetery and walked by foot," wrote another Israeli who attended the funeral.
