The room grew silent as Noa Argamani took the stage Monday night just off the UT Austin campus. It was a deep quiet. Not a word from the audience. No scraping of chairs on the floor. No shuffling of feet. Not even a cough or sneeze.
Argamani was one of more than 200 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Eight months later, she was rescued by Israeli special forces. After that, she became a voice for the hostages that remained.
Students, community members and alumni filled in rows of chairs and listened as Argamani shared her story.
Barri Seitz remembers waking up in June of 2024 to the news that Argamani was free. Seitz, a junior at UT, had been following the war in Gaza and Argamani's story.
"Noa's story is one the whole world saw and it's something you don't forget," Seitz said. "I remember the day she was rescued and just crying. It was such an empowering moment."
Argamani was a third-year college student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev studying software engineering when she was abducted. She was at the Nova music festival with her boyfriend and several other friends.
Seitz said it was easy to relate to her story.
"I think it really puts things into perspective in a way," Seitz said. "We are so similar as college students and to hear her message and her goals for her life is just inspiring."
During the hour-long program, Argamani spoke about the hope that sustained her while in captivity and, once free, her work as an ambassador for those still held hostage.
"A lot of people did not believe that hostages could survive," she said. "I kept telling them it's possible and that they would come home, but we had to keep putting pressure and keep reminding the government. And we need to be the voice for hostages and not forget about them."
The last living hostages were released in October as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Since 2023, more than 70,000 Palestinians and Israelis have died, with thousands more wounded during the war.
Rabbi Stephanie Max said hearing stories like Argamani's was an incredible opportunity for students and community members.
"I imagine that the way [Argamani and others] tell their stories and relate to them will continue to evolve as they age and move further away from the experience," Max said. "But the act of telling them will remain critically important because the world can sometimes have a very short memory and there is incredible risk when that happens."
Argamani's visit to UT is part of a speaking tour across the United States. This was her only stop on a college campus in the U.S.
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