I Went To The Nova Festival Massacre Site — Part 2
Massacre site
This is the second part of my experience going to the Nova Festival massacre site. If you haven’t read the first part, I suggest reading it first.
Usually, I’m not an overly emotional person. I don’t cry easily. I’ve been in places like the Nova massacre site before and I knew too well what to expect. I asked several friends and family members to join me on the pilgrimage but they all turned me down. It is still too early for most, the wounds are still fresh.
On the way to the site, there were countless ‘Bring them home’ signs with the faces of the hostages. They are still in Gaza and the war won’t end without them being released.
This site has become the non-official memorial site for the Oct. 7 massacre. It is open to the public and there are many visitors or as I call them - pilgrims. Some, like me, came alone, others in groups. The local kibbutzniks and massacre survivors organize tours to tell the story of the killed and their own miraculous survival stories. The world needs to know what happened in that place.
The Victims Grove
On the right to the parking lot located the Victims Grove. It was recently planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). This organization works tirelessly to plant trees in that area and the rest of Israel. I’m not affiliated with JNF, but if you want to donate to restore the Kibbutzim, here’s the link.
The grove is rows of newly planted trees, Israeli flags and names of the victims. Every victim has a tree. It feels like the rows of the trees are endless. Three hundred sixty-four trees, one for every victim killed at the site. It was painful to realize that it is only 364 out of over 1200 killed.
I walked through the rows of trees, reading the names of the victims, looking at the faces of the killed and trying to imprint their images in my memory.
The Dance Floor
Across the road, located the forest where the party was held. The forest had been planted by JNF in honor of Howard Siegel. His family didn’t know what would unfold in that forest.
The dance floor was in the middle of the forest. There were poles with the faces of the killed. It was painful watching the unbelievable number of young faces. Some victim’s faces became famous and their images became viral, like Shani Louk, while others I saw for the first time.
I walked through the poles and took photos of the killed, learning their stories and listening to other visitors talk about the victims.
I looked at the faces of the killed policemen and policewomen fighting terrorists on that day. I listened to the stories of brave men and women saving lives while risking their own. One of them was Debbie (Devorah) Abraham. She was a forty-year-old policewoman who worked as security at the Nova Festival. She fought the terrorists for hours and saved many souls. From an early age, she dreamt of being a policewoman and volunteered in different organizations in her community. She died that day.
It was not all bad; I met a group of wonderful young people who came to pay respects to a man they never met. They were members of the Israeli manga fan club. They came to have a club meeting at that place because Noam Ravia, killed on Oct. 7 was a huge manga fan. Noam was killed with his friend Shahar Gal Kedman, Noam’s brother Yuval Ravia and Yuval’s fiancé Noy Tiferet Zafrani. They came to dance together and were gunned down together. God bless them all.
We all posed for a photo commemorating his love of the “One Piece” manga series.
I looked at the pictures of couples killed together and now buried side-by-side. Some left small orphans behind.
I walked on and stumbled upon a memorial site for Ella Hamawi. I sat down on a bench by her memorial and looked at her face. She was 26 years old and lived in Kibbutz Nir Itzhak, which was also attacked on Oct. 7. She only wanted to party with friends when the murderers came.
I sat there for a long time and tried imagining in my mind how the massacre unfolded. How scared were the young people? I tried to imagine the rapes. I thought of the policemen and policewomen who fought the terrorists against all odds that bloody day. I thought of the massacre.
There was a journal there for the visitors to leave notes for Ella. I took the liberty to write a note in the name of our Medium community. Dear reader, if your name is not on the list but you think it should be, leave a comment and I’ll add you the next time I’m at the Nova site.
There was a Chabad stand there. I’m not a religious man. It was the first time in many years that I put on a Tefillin and prayed.
I didn’t get all the answers I needed. I will have to come again.
