Days before the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks in Israel, survivors of the Nova Music Festival gathered in Coral Gables to share their stories of horror and tragedy.
After attending service for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Temple Judea held a special commemoration for those who survived the largest terror attack in Israel’s history.
Worshippers remembered the 378 people who were killed by Hamas during the music festival and the 44 of them who were taken hostage.
One of those survivors, Shalev Biton, reflected on his happiness at the festival with his friends. He shared a video of the moments before the attack.
“I remember I heard a barrage of missiles from my tents. I could recognize the noise of it from the first moment. Then I opened my tent, I looked to the sky, I saw the sky was full of trails, of rockets,” he said.
The sound prompted him and his friends to leave, but while in the car, they heard gunshots and got out to see what had taken place.
“On my right side, I could see a woman, sitting inside a car, that all the front of the car was absolutely crashed because of gunshots,” said Biton. “That woman, she was bleeding very heavily from her upper body.
The sight of the deceased woman shocked him and his friends. That’s when they decided to hitch the car and run for their lives until they arrived at a nearby farm, where a farmer helped hide those in danger.
The ceremony came hours after a driver rammed his car into a crowd observing Yom Kippur, then stabbed worshippers, killing 2 and injuring several others in the United Kingdom.
The executive director of Temple Judea, Sharon Israel Moskovitz, said these attacks are far too common.
“It’s happening all around the world, and unfortunately, as we saw last week, it’s happening in various houses of worship. So, regardless of your religion, your background, your ethnicity, it’s happening everywhere,” she said.
She believes education is the key to stopping antisemitism.
“These are not words of hate; these are words of peace. These are words of comfort, safety, to support one another, to lift one another up. We need to continue telling our stories,” said Moskovitz. “We shouldn’t be afraid. We should continue to come out, and we will not allow anybody to keep us at home.”
She added they are incredibly grateful for the community’s support and those who want to help tell their story to the world.
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