Israeli in Orlando
Dozens of Israelis celebrated in Orlando club one week before massacre
American-Israeli organized a party just one week before in the same Orlando club where 50 people were murdered; 'There were at least 20 Israelis with me, security is a joke here. Israel is on another level.'
Avi Alfasi (59), an American-Israeli who lives in Florida, was shocked upon receiving the news of the massacre that took place at the “Pulse” Gay club, on Saturday in Orlando.
Exactly one week before the attack, which claimed the lives of at least 50 people and injured dozens more, Alfasi had organized a massive party at the club in which he himself had participated, alongside many friends. “It could be said that many Israelis were miraculously saved,” he said on Saturday night. “In a party which took place last Saturday there were at least 20 of them with me. I could hear in the club a lot of Hebrew.”
Avi Alfasi (left)
The party, organized by Alfasi, was especially significant since it was held to mark Gay Days at Walt Disney World - an event held annually on the first Saturday in June which is one of the largest gay pride events in the world.
“I have been in this club many times,” said Alfasi, who owns a business which organizes massive parties for the gay community in the area. “Since I organized big parties there I even rented an apartment opposite the place and today I discovered that many of my friends were murdered there. It is absolutely terrible that such a thing can happen in a place where people just want to be happy. It is an awful feeling that I could have been there.”
Orlando (Photo: Reuters)
Alfasi added that the club was, like many places in the US, an easy target for terrorists. “They do have security in the club but it isn’t like in Israel” he explained. “You can get in through the side entrance, they don’t really check bags. Unfortunately, they are stupid. In Israel the level of security is on another level. In America it is a joke. You could say that the writing was really on the wall,” he continued. “They told me that the terrorist entered the club, simply stood by the doors, began shooting and didn’t let anyone escape. Anyone who approached him was shot in cold blood.”
The massacre, predicted Alfasi, would change the feeling of the gay community especially in clubs, along with the way in which security is coordinated “I, personally, will ensure that from now on there will be better security in all of the clubs, which will be properly protected,” he said. “Any weapon that someone wants to bring into the club will have to be stopped from doing so. At the moment they are saying that it was an Islamic hit and the FBI are saying that perhaps the terrorist didn’t intend to carry out the attack in a gay club but simply looked for a crowded place close to a highway but not everyone accepts this.”
Rabbi Aaron Katz, an Israeli-American who lives in Miami Beach in Florida and who is affiliated with the gay community said, even before ISIS took responsibility, doubted that he choice of venue in which to carry out the attack was an accident.
“There are many places in America where they (are stuck in the past) when it comes to the subject of gays.” he said. “It is extremely sad, extremely bad, extremely concerning. Unfortunately racism and the hatred leads, in the end, to an attack like this.”
