Nova Festival Memorial in southern Israel draws 7,000 visitors daily

Hamas terrorists massacred 364 people at the Nova Festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The overwhelming majority were civilian Israeli partygoers. Many others were brutally kidnapped into Gaza as hostages. The Nova Festival memorial has now become one of Israel’s most visited sites, attracting some 7,000 visitors daily.

The memorial site displays pillars that display the photographs of the victims alongside Israeli flags. 

Meir Zohar, whose daughter Bar was murdered at the Nova Festival, explained the significance of the site.

“As a father who lost his daughter in the horrific Nova massacre, this place is not just a memorial site for me and the other bereaved families – it is a space where we feel that our pain is seen and heard," Zohar said. 

"I am deeply grateful to everyone working to ensure that this place remains honorable, accessible, and worthy – so that the victims’ story is never forgotten," he added.

After receiving feedback from the families of victims, the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) earmarked NIS 4 million (more than $1 million) to enhance the parking lot at Re’im, the kibbutz near the Gaza border where the Nova Festival was held. The upgrades include new educational spaces, a memorial grove, walking paths and restrooms to accommodate the growing number of visitors. 

The Nova Festival memorial site is the brainchild of Yaniv Maimon, the JNF southern regional director.  

“We are proud to play a significant role in one of the most visited sites in Israel today,” Maimon said. 

He revealed that many members of the professional team managing the site were impacted by the tragedy. 

“This site holds great national importance. Furthermore, many members of KKL-JNF’s Southern Region team, who are responsible for the site's maintenance, were personally affected by the events of October 7, adding to their deep personal and emotional commitment to this site.”

JNF chairwoman, Ifat Ovadia-Luski, stressed that the organization has been backing the families of the victims by "improving and making this site accessible to the public, while ensuring the dignified and respectful preservation of the victims' memory, is both a moral and national mission for us."

The memorial site recreates the atmosphere of the festival by recreating the stage, a forward command post and displaying an ambulance and a yellow container that were present at the time of the festival. 

"This place is not just a memory of what was – it is a living testament to the resilience, unity, and sorrow of Israeli society as a whole."

“This only strengthens our commitment to continue maintaining this site with the honor it deserves,” Ovadia-Luski added. 

In November, the Jerusalem District Court approved the transfer of millions of dollars from the Palestinian Authority (PA) as financial compensation to 11 Israeli families of the Nova Music Festival victims. The court’s decision followed a lawsuit highlighting that the Palestinian Authority continues to incite terrorism against Israel and provides financial incentives to murder Israeli Jews through its controversial pay-for-slay policy.

“The Palestinian Authority, which has transferred and continues to transfer funds as rewards and compensation to terrorists and their families under PA legislation, thereby supports the terror acts committed by the terrorists in the massacre. Hence, the PA bears liability for damages to terror victims and their families,” the submitted lawsuit stated.