During a memorial ceremony for the hundreds of people murdered by Hamas at the Supernova Sukkot Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7, organizers vowed to “keep dancing.”
“We went through something that we had no control over, we will take care of everyone and help everyone,” said Omri Sassi and Nimrod Arnin during the ceremony, which was held at Kibbutz Sdot Yam, located on the Mediterranean coast between Netanya and Haifa.
“We love the country. We will dance again and that will be our victory,” added the organizers.
The Supernova Sukkot Music Festival was attended by some 3,000 people. At least 260 people were killed at the music festival while others were taken to Gaza as hostages.
“The Nova community suffered the largest number of murders. … This was the largest event we have done to date, a lot of people came from abroad to spend time at the event,” Sassi and Arnin told Walla News.
“At some point, at the height of the event, at sunrise, at the happiest and most intense moment of the day, terrorists came bursting in, launched a missile attack and started murdering people,” they said in their first public remarks since Oct. 7.
Both organizers suffered personal losses at the party. Sassi lost four relatives, while Arnin lost his sister.
Israel’s Ministry of Justice on Monday told lawmakers at the Knesset in Jerusalem that “quite a few” of the partygoers were forcibly hospitalized in mental-health institutions due to their harrowing experiences at the event.
Nova has been raising funds with the goal of supporting victims of the massacre. As of Monday afternoon, Nova raised some 20,000 shekels ($5,200).
“We send endless love and an enormous hug to all the members of the tribe while wishing health and prompt recovery to all those injured and affected, and a prayer to strengthen the families and loved ones of those murdered,” wrote the organization.