Jewish SA influencer in convoy attacked in West Bank

South African Jewish influencer Bellamy Bellucci was in one of three vehicles that Palestinian teens attacked in the West Bank on Monday 19 October. A group of what she referred to as “children” on motorbikes threw rocks at the vehicles carrying a group of Israel advocates. 

The group included social media personalities Cindy Seni, known to her followers as @israelwithcindy, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who is standing for election, and Jessy Cohen. Bellucci said Seni was injured during the attack in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, and all three vehicles damaged. 

Speaking to the SA Jewish Report shortly afterwards, Bellucci said they had been travelling as part of a tour organised by Regavim, an Israeli organisation focused on land policy and planning in areas it considers strategically important to Israel. 

The group had planned to visit housing developments in the West Bank, which included seeing mansions. “The closest thing I can liken it to is driving through Houghton,” she said. Bellucci said they were initially taken to locations in Israeli-controlled Area C, but the final stop was in Area B, which is under Palestinian administration. 

She said the group had not expected the confrontation that followed. “Our driver told us to put our heads down,’” Bellucci said, describing the moment rocks began striking the vehicles. 

She said they had noticed children riding electric bicycles and holding up their phones as they had arrived in the village. The situation escalated when other vehicles began surrounding them. People approached the car at the front of the convoy, in which Hassan-Nahoum was travelling. Bellucci recalled being repeatedly asked whether the group members were Jewish. “We weren’t there to do anything except see the housing,” she said. 

Bellucci said the group had become concerned as more people gathered around the cars. They eventually began reversing out of the area after being told to leave. Children on bicycles followed the vehicles, shouting and recording them. Bellucci began filming the confrontation herself. 

She said that those surrounding the vehicles became quieter when they realised she was recording and the children smiled when they realised they were being filmed. As the group attempted to leave, their driver warned them to get down. Bellucci said children on both sides of the road began throwing large rocks at the cars. 

The vehicles continued moving until the group reached safety. “All three vehicles were hit and dented,” she said, adding that glass had shattered. 

Bellucci said Seni was checked by medical professionals and was doing well. But the experience had affected the group emotionally. “I think mentally everyone’s going through it.” 

Bellucci described the confrontation as coordinated, questioning how those present had known the group was coming. However, she acknowledged that she could not explain how the information might have been shared. 

The incident occurred in the West Bank, a territory central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Disputes over land, settlement activity, security, and control have contributed to repeated confrontations between Palestinians and Israelis. 

Under the Oslo Accords, agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization during the 1990s, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B, and C. Areas A and B fall under Palestinian civil administration, while Israel retains security responsibility. Area C remains under Israeli civil and security control. 

Bellucci said the group had been briefed to visit Area C and had already visited two locations before travelling to the final stop. She said she was surprised to find they were going into Area B. She questioned the security arrangements for the tour, saying she had assumed that travelling with Israelis as part of an organised visit would provide adequate protection. 

The experience has prompted her to reconsider what she needs to know before participating in similar visits. “I need to ask if I’ll be in a car that is bulletproof? How many people have guns?” 

She also expressed concern about how the incident might be portrayed publicly. She said messages were already circulating on Telegram alleging that the Israel Defense Forces had entered the area to provoke an incident. Bellucci questioned how those claims had emerged so quickly. 

The confrontation took place during the annual olive harvest, when tensions in parts of the West Bank usually rise amid disputes involving Palestinian farmers, Israeli settlers, and other visitors. Bellucci said she had heard that an earlier incident in the area might have contributed to the hostility towards the group. She maintained, however, that this did not explain what happened to them. 

Despite the experience, Bellucci said she intended to continue her work and remain proudly Jewish. She has remained in contact with the other people who were on the tour. “I don’t think anybody was expecting something to occur,” she said. “It just gives me more pause moving forward.”