A New Day Will Rise: Finding hope in my journey through October 7. Holding onto the light, but nevertheless a story of pain, tears, and desperation, but also of resilience. Rising from the shadows, there is a true legacy; Stories of our heroes that should not be forgotten: Remembering October 7.
Honor and remembrance are built not just on the memory of raw pain and tragedy, but also on the enduring strength and resilience of those who live through them.
Life goes on, the pain fades into a dull ache. It was that day that changed our world forever, in ways I cannot describe. The melody of "New Day Will Rise" carries a heavy truth; history is marked by this day that fractured our lives, into a before and after, and inflicted very deep cuts into our souls. The true legacy of that horrific day is found in a unwavering and true unity.
This is a story of unimaginable pain, but also that of a nation that held onto the light, when the world went dark.
The original song, New Day Will Rise, ( Kol Isha) was Israel's powerful entry for Eurovision 2025, performed by Yuval Raphael who herself is an October 7 survivor of The Super Nova Music Festival. Here is her story
It is heartbreaking to remember how full of life the 1,200 victims were just moments before that horrific, cruel, and evil attack. The worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. On this day, October 7, 2023 thousands of young people gathered at the Super Nova Music Festival, near Kibbutz Re'im. While families in most Kibbutzim were getting ready for Simchas Torah.
Families like Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their two little boys still in bed, in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and within hours these ordinary lives became the faces of a global tragedy, an terrorist attack. While it is impossible to fully capture the essence of all 1.200 stories cut short on October 7, I can choose to honor the community by remembering the specific names, families, and the "Tribe of Nova" heroes who shall never been forgotten.
Inside a dark tunnel beneath Gaza, wounded Hersh Goldberg-Polin kept his spirits alive by repeating a simple truth: "He who has a why can bear almost any how." Hersh’s story, together with hundreds of others from the October 7 attacks, reminded the world of the profound weight of a single human life. Writing about this day is painful, but putting a name to the victims is an act of defiance against forgetfulness. Here are the stories of the lives they lived, and the legacies they left behind.
The Super Nova Music Festival
Anita Lisman, and Segev Shushan were murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival.
Guy Illouz, who was at the festival and manage to make a final phone call to his father, telling him that he loved him, hiding from the terrorist. He was abducted and died in captivity.
Eynav Levy attended the festival together with her husband Or, Eynav was killed at the site, while Or was abducted and taken into Gaza.
Natalie Sanandaji recalls the confusion when intercepted rockets lit up the sky. She evacuated by car but quickly experienced gridlock traffic, forcing to abandon the car and to flee on foot.
"We ran on foot for four hours after rockets and gunshots were heard. We only survived because of a man named Moshe Sati, who bravely drove back and forth to pull fleeing people out of danger and drive them to safety."
Today, Natalie shares her story, and speaking out is a big part of her healing process.
Shir Zohar, attended the festival with her best friend, Ester. When the chaos began, they got into Ester’s car to escape, only to come under direct fire from Hamas terrorists.
"Our car was hit six times. All the bullets got inside the vehicle, but miraculously, none of them hit us."
They abandoned the car and ran blindly on foot, eventually crossing paths with a festival bartender named Ori Arad, who helped them get to safety.
Hadar Shave and her friend Shalev also abandoned their car after getting stuck in traffic. They fled back toward the fields and ended up hiding in an orchard for five agonizing hours.
"We were dodging terrorists and bullets. For hours, we just lay there hearing gunshots, RPGs, grenades, missiles, and the screams of people being murdered all around us."
Yehuda Becher memory with the impactfull video, singing "Elokai Neshama" while driving his car. He originally sent the clip to a close friend who was going through a difficult time and needed emotional support and positive energy.
Yehuda singing about HaShem reclaiming his pure soul, filmed before he was murdered at a music festival, deeply touched me.
In the wake of his death, his brothers and several musical artists recorded "Elokai Neshama" to honor his life.
The Goldberg- Polin family became the global face of the hostage crisis following the October 7 attacks. Their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was a 23-year-old American-Israeli who was severely wounded and abducted from the Nova Music Festival. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, launched a tireless, high-profile international campaign to free him and the other captives, meeting with world leaders, speaking at the United Nations, and addressing the Democratic National Convention.
Hersh traveled to the Super Nova festival with his close friends to celebrate his 23rd birthday. When the attack began, he sent two WhatsApp messages to his parents: "I love you" and "I'm sorry."
Here is the story of Hersh Goldberg- Polin
1,000 Israeli musicians, singers, from all over Israel, together with some family members of the hostages united in a heartfelt concert with one sole purpose: to Bring the Hostages Home 🎗
Testimonies of Returned Hostages from the Nova Festival. Their return was often complex operations, while others via diplomatic ceasefires.
Noa Argamani became one of the most recognized faces of the October 7 abductions after footage been showed to the world, of her being driven away on a motorcycle from the Nova Festival. She was held captive for 738 days alongside women and children before being rescued by IDF.
Avinatan Or, who was abducted with her at the festival, endured even harsher conditions. He was isolated, chained in cramped tunnel enclosures with almost no food, and routinely beaten after a failed escape attempt, before finally being released via a US-mediated ceasefire.
Evyatar David was captured alongside his friend Guy Dal at the festival after traffic forced them into separate escape routes. For two years, his family survived on agonizing glimpses, including a Hamas-published video showing him visibly thin and weak in a dark tunnel. Upon his release and return home, his family shared a statement that expressed the long road ahead for survivors:
"After two years of suffering, he is here. Now a new journey of healing will begin for Evyatar and us."
Danielle Waldman was a 24-year-old California native and daughter of Israeli tech billionaire Eyal Waldman. She and her boyfriend, Noam Shai, were murderd by Hamas terrorist while attempting to flee the Supernova music festival.
Lior Asulin (43) Tel Aviv. Born in Ra'anana, Lior Asulin had a 20-year career as a forward in the Israeli Premier League, scoring 176 goals. He played for major clubs including Hapoel Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem, and Bnei Sakhnin, with whom he won the Israeli State Cup in 2004. He was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival.
Jake Aaron Marlowe (26), was a 26-year-old dual British-Israeli citizen and musician who was murdered by Hamas terrorists. He moved from London to Israel in 2021 after becoming deeply concerned by rising antisemitism in the UK. In Israel, he worked various jobs, including carpentry and security.
Shani Louk( 22 ) from Germany, was murdered by Hamas terrorist while trying to escape the Nova music festival massacre. Her body was abducted and paraded through the streets of Gaza in the back of a pickup truck. In May 2024, the IDF recovered her body from a tunnel in Gaza, allowing her family to return her remains to Israel for a proper burial.
Omer Shem Tov (20) attended the Nova Music Festival near the Gaza border.He initially tried to escape the incoming attack, but went back to help friends.His family tracked his live phone location and received frantic calls before seeing data show him driven into Gaza. A video later surfaced showing him handcuffed in a Hamas vehicle.
Omer spent 505 days confined underground in extreme conditions, isolation, starvation, and severe psychologically distress. Faith kept him going.
On January 25, 2025, after 477 days in captivity, Naama Levy was freed together with Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, and Daniella Gilboa as part of a ceasefire-hostage exchange deal. While they survived unimaginable hardship and are undergoing a long rehabilitation process, they finally went home.Their friend Noa Marciano, was murdered in captivity.
Kibbutz Nahal Oz
On October 7, 2023, Omri was brutally abducted from his home right in front of Lishay and their two young daughters, Roni and Alma. He was held in Hamas captivity for 738 days. Surviving over two years of extreme physical abuse, starvation, and isolation in the Gaza tunnels. During this agonising time, Lishay wrote Mojo's Return to help their children process the trauma and hold onto the hope that their father would return.
Kibbutz Nir Oz
The Silberman family, parents of Shiri Bibas,
The Siman Tov Family, Tamar and Yonatan along withtheir three young children, twins Arbel and Shachar (6), and Omer (2).
Oded Lifshitz,( 84) and his wife Yocheved (85)were taken, but freed early on.
Gad Haggai (73) and his wife Judy Weinstein-Haggai ( 70), were shot while on their morning walk, they died of their wounds.
Kibbutz Be'eri
IlanWeiss (56 ) was a infrastructure manager and deputy commander of the emergency response team at Kibbutz Be'eri, was murdered by Hamas while defending his community. After being shot and killed near the security weapons locker, his body was abducted and taken into the Gaza. August 2025, after nearly 700 days, the IDF recovered his body from Gaza during a military operation, and he was returned to Kibbutz Be'eri for burial on September 1, 2025.
His wife, Shiri (53), and his youngest daughter, Noga (18), were also taken hostage from their home.They were held captive in Gaza for 50 days before being released in late November 2023 as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement.
His two older daughters, Meytal and Maayan, survived the massacre by hiding inside their home's safe room for 12 hours until being rescued by the Chayalim. His brother, Amir, and sister-in-law, Mati, were murdered in a separate house during the attack.
The Even Family: Parents Hen and Rinat, and their two teenage sons, Alon (16) and Ido (14), who were all murdered in their home, leaving behind two young surviving boys.
The Hezroni twins ( 12 ) Liel and Yanai Hezroni, who were murdered alongside their great-aunt Ayala andgrandfatherAvia, who had stepped in to raise them.
Mila Cohen: A 10-month-old baby girl who was murdered in her home together with her father and grandfather.
What Happened to the Bibas Family
On the morning of October 7, Nir Oz; Yarden tried to heroically defend his family with a handgun. He was overwhelmed, beaten, and abducted separately into Gaza while covered in blood. Shortly after, Shiri, Ariel, and baby Kfir, the youngest person taken hostage that day were kidnapped. While in captivity, Hamas weaponized the family for propaganda. In late November 2023, Hamas released a cruel, coerced video of Yarden, forcing him to react to unverified claims that his wife and children had been killed in an airstrike. Yarden's Release: Following a diplomatic ceasefire agreement, Yarden Bibas was released alive on February 1, 2025, after enduring 484 days in captivity. Tragically, he returned home only to have his worst fears officially confirmed weeks later. The Fate of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir: In late February 2025, a ceasefire deal mandated the return of deceased hostages. The bodies of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were returned to Israel. Forensic investigations shattered Hamas’s claims of an airstrike: The IDF confirmed that the mother and her two little boys had been murdered in cold blood by their captors while in captivity. Intelligence established their official date of death as November 28, 2023.
The Lavaya and Legacy
On February 26, 2025, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir were buried together in a single casket at the Tsoher Cemetery, laid to rest right next to Shiri's parents (who were also murdered on October 7).
At the funeral, Yarden delivered a devastating eulogy, apologizing through tears for his inability to protect them that morning. Today, Yarden survives as the sole member of his immediate family. On what would have been baby Kfir's third birthday, Yarden shared an emotional tribute online, writing: "My beloved Kfir, you didn't get to celebrate this year... I'm sorry for bringing you into such a cruel world... I hope you know how much I love you and how much I miss you." May HaShem be with Yarden
" Their names are now engraved in the heart of our nation. We pleaded, we cried, we begged HaShem, but it wasn't to be. Though their lives were stolen in the darkness, their light remains unextinguished. May the memory of Shiri, Ariel, and baby Kfir be a blessing forever, and may HaShem watch over Yarden, granting him comfort, strength and peace in a fractured world."
Over the past years, the most profound response to tragedy has been the quiet power of the Jewish people in Israel and all over the world. We have seen neighbors supporting neighbors,Jews across oceans, and of different backgrounds united together, we form an unbreakable wall of comfort and strength.
This unity reminds us of a fundamental truth: our capacity to love, heal, and rebuild will always be more powerful than any force that seeks to destroy us.
Hope is not a passive, but an active choice.We honor the memory of those we lost by carrying their light forward into the world. We do this through:
Acts of kindness, Unity, and holding onto, that a better tomorrow is possible if we work for it today.
The Rebbe reminded us that darkness is only the absence of light. Let us not fight the darkness, but simply light a candle, through mitzvos, chesed and love to fix this broken world.
Here my journey through October 7th comes to an end. The pain is still there, but there is also hope for better days. For us, for all who have returned home, and for the families from the kibbutzim and the Nova Music Festival victims who must now live without their loved ones, may HaShem comfort them. We pleaded, we cried, we begged HaShem, but it wasn't to be. May their memory be a blessing and be a comfort.