At least 350 people were murdered in the music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7 in the largest massacre in Israel’s history. Others were abducted by Hamas terrorists into Gaza, and only five of them were released, including Mia Schem.
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In a post Schem released on her Instagram account, she shows off the new tattoo she got after returning home, which reads: “We will dance again,” and the date of the attack, October 7, 2023.
"I’ll never forget the date, 7.10.23. The pain, the fear, the shocking sights, the friends who won't return, and those we must bring back. But we will win yet, we will dance again," the 21-year-old tattoo artist wrote in her post.
Footage featuring Schem in Hamas captivity was the first video released by the terrorist organization.
Only after she finished getting her tattoo did Schem realize that the date looked like the word “suffering” in Hebrew (sevel). Neither she nor the tattoo artists intended for it to come out that way.
In the Hamas video, Mia was seen lying on a bed with her right hand bandaged, receiving medical attention. "I was at a party, got my hand severely injured, and then they took me to Gaza. Please get us out of here as soon as possible," she said in the footage released as part of Hamas’ psychological warfare campaign.
Until her abduction on October 7, Schem worked as a tattoo artist at the Liav Tattoo studio. The studio owners said at the time that "a week before she was kidnapped, she decided to paint a Star of David and some hearts, saying she decided to do this because she loves this country."
Schem was released from captivity last week after 55 days of being held in the Gaza Strip.