Thursday night, as the sun set over Yarkon Park, it felt like we had stepped into a parallel universe. Scattered across the grass were tens of thousands of young people, surrendering to the music and rhythms set by those on stage - Israel's top artists, from Berry Sakharof, The Jews and Zehava Ben to Noga Erez and Benaya Barabi. They were not only performing their greatest hits but were also accompanied by leading names from the trance scene, turning familiar songs into something new, different and captivating. It seemed that such a unique event, merging pop, rock and electronic-psychedelic worlds, could only happen here - at the emotional healing concert of the Nova community.
As the soft colors washed over the sky, it was hard not to think of that terrifying sunrise on the morning of October 7, a dreadful and nightmarish Saturday, which demonstrated the fragility of life under the threat of those who tried to destroy us. But this evening was about healing, led by music. Amid the profound loss and the long journey ahead, they danced with tears in their eyes, and it was not easy. Yet, nothing could stop them.
The Jews and Hadag Nahash performing in Yarkon Park
(Video: Omer Tessel)
Behind the impressive stage, top Israeli musicians mingled with survivors of the Nova music festival massacre, families of victims and members of the Israeli electronic and trance music community.
The backstage atmosphere was joyful and energetic, but the immense sadness was always present. On one hand, it was Yarkon Park, a grand concert, a real festival filled with activities. On the other hand, everyone remembered the purpose of this gathering and knew it would never be complete until the 120 people still held captive in Gaza for 265 days were returned.
The sight from backstage was spectacular - Yarkon Park was filled with thousands who came to be filled with hope, to pray fervently for good news and better days, and amid all the hardship, to celebrate life. This sight moved the families and Nova survivors, who experienced a whirlwind of emotions.
'Don't call us survivors; call us dancers'
Shalev Biton, 25, attended the Nova festival on October 7 with five close friends, all of whom survived in different ways. It was only after the party that he learned his friend, Tiferet Lapidot, who was also there, had been murdered.
We met him backstage, smiling and excited. Since that fateful Saturday, he has recovered and even returned to the party site several times. Today, he dedicates much of his time to advocacy. "The siren caught me while I was sleeping at the party. I wanted to rest a bit before morning and woke up straight into the chaos," he told Ynet.
"Around 7:40, there was a serious barrage fired at us, and we found ourselves running for two hours. We ran eight kilometers until we reached Youness' farm, who saved our lives. An hour later, the terrorists arrived at the farm. Youness managed to deceive them and convince them there were no Jews there - and that’s how we survived. He totally saved our lives."
The Youness Biton refers to is Youness Elkaranawi, a Bedouin farmer who hid eight young Nova partygoers and dozens of Thai workers from Hamas terrorists beneath his home. "We talk almost every week; for me, it's like a father-son relationship. The man is simply a Righteous Among the Nations," Biton adds, referring to non-Jews who were recognized by the State of Israel for saving Jews from the Nazis during World War II.
There are a lot of people here tonight. How does that make you feel?
"It's a bit like the first arrival at the Nova site. It's so many emotions colliding with each other. I would like to say it's a victory, but you can't really say it's a victory. After all, on October 7, nearly 350 people were murdered at the party. So I don't want to say 'victory' - but it is a kind of overcoming. The terrorists didn't win. Ultimately, here we are, nine months later, dancing together, and no one will stop us. I won't say we'll dance again, because here we are dancing right now."
And how do you find strength nine months later?
"Today, I'm in a more stable place, trying to believe in life. Learning to live with it, accepting what happened, moving forward, and living."
Like Biton, Lala Levi, 26, who was also at Nova on October 7, found shelter in a nearby house. Levi fled to Kibbutz Saad and hid with a Holocaust survivor. "Yes, ironically, I hid with Sarah Jackson, a Holocaust survivor," she says backstage. "She is my angel, and we are still in touch. We've become like a new dynamic duo, being interviewed everywhere together."
Levi also had the opportunity to stand on stage with other Nova community members, collectively reading a piece that asks, "Don't call us survivors. Call us dancers."
"I had just come off the stage and realized the number of people here. It's crazy that all these people came," she adds. "In the morning, I was really in a dilemma - what am I doing here? What exactly am I celebrating? I have friends who were murdered, friends who are still hostages in Gaza. What the hell am I celebrating here? Then I thought, wait, we can celebrate for a moment that we - 3,000 people - survived. We can give space for that too. It's joy mixed with sadness, but how great that we have the opportunity to show people our world, the world of electronic music."
Amid the mixed emotions, Levi also wanted to remember her friends who were murdered - Lior Maimon, Dorin Atias, Elyakim Libman and Sigal Itach, as well as Eden Yerushalmi, who has been held captive in Gaza for 265 days.
'We close our eyes and see Guy, he's always with us'
The unique musical combinations produced one-of-a-kind versions that turned Israeli pop and rock hits into trance arrangements, brilliantly blending together and keeping the crowd dancing for hours.
The choice of songs was sensitive and intelligent, ranging from tear-jerking moments, such as Zehava Ben's performance of A Mother's Love with bereaved mothers, to the persistent prayer of Berry Sakharof and Eitan Reiter, who on Come Home hosted Moran Stella Yanai and Mia Schem, who returned from captivity, and Gal Dalal, the brother of Guy who is still held hostage in Gaza. There were also anthems of hope like Nofel Vekam (Falling and Rising) performed by Shabak S and Captain Hook, and the call to action by Hadag Nahash and DJ Bliss - "Time to Wake Up."
Rocker Ninet Tayeb also stood out with her special rendition of I Got Up to Dance accompanied by a troupe of dancers, emphasizing that this time it's "I Got Up to Dance" - not "almost," as the song's lyrics say. "Today we are here for them, not for ourselves - we are here tonight for the survivors and everyone who came, and also for those who couldn't make it," Ninet told Ynet, explaining that this is what she told the dancers who accompanied her just before they took the stage together.
"We are not the focus this time, we are serving something much bigger than ourselves. October 7 is personal to everyone. I've had chills all day, constantly, from the moment I got here."
For Orit Shachaf, lead singer of The Jews, October 7 marked the loss of a musical partner - Guy Elouz, the band's technical producer, who was murdered at Nova. "I brought Guy here with me. That's what connects me to the event - Guy, I'm here because of him and for him," she told Ynet, wearing a shirt with his picture on the back.
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The Jews lead singer Orit Shachaf wearing a shirt with band's technical producer Guy Elouz' picture on the back
(Photo: Roy Alman)
"Guy was always there during performances, on the right side of the stage, and even at our last performance before October 7, he was there in his usual spot on the right. That's also my last memory of him. Now it's very difficult when he's no longer there on the right side. It's hard to adjust, these are tough moments, I've cried in the middle of performances because I couldn't continue. And then I kept singing. We close our eyes and see Guy, he's always with us."
DJ Darwish (David Avramov) is a well-known figure in Israel's electronic music community. On October 7, his son Lior, who had just started his steps in the music world and began DJing, was at the Nova party. "That morning I was at home, waiting for my son," says Darwish. "We realized something terrible had happened even before it hit the news. There was awful uncertainty until we received the news that Lior had been murdered in an outdoor shelter at Re'im."
On stage, DJ Darwish accompanied Mosh Ben Ari in performing his song Mamri'im as well as Shir LaMa'alot. He also joined Marina Maximilian for her songs Hurricane, Israel's entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest, and Together, the lyrics of which - "With you, even the end of the world doesn't scare me" - she dedicated to the DJ, singing it together with the audience.
"The original meaning of trance is a healing ritual. Thank you for inspiring us and giving us the strength to heal ourselves alongside your pain," the singer said on stage. "I have always supported the message that music is love and dancing is a release, a form of healing. This 'togetherness' brings great comfort; it’s what we need in this life," he said. "I come to terms with this fact every day, and it’s hard - but death is part of life, and I acknowledge that fact. As difficult as it is to face death, we must understand that it’s there."
Darwish added that he was moved by the strong response from leading artists from both scenes. "There is massive support here from the best in Israeli music for our community - the electronic and trance music community. It's very powerful, the kind of thing that can only happen after a significant breakdown. Sometimes, when the wall breaks, flowers emerge from the cracks. This is something like that - a large-scale recognition and mobilization to celebrate and amplify the good, and to see how much healing and ritual power there is in dance and music. Everyone here tonight is with their own memories, and I dedicate this performance to my son."
Maximilian, a close friend of DJ Darwish, spoke about Avramov's struggle with his loss and the deep meaning of creativity and music in the healing process - both hers and his. "I have known Lior since he was eight years old, and for me, what happened that day was as close as it gets," she told Ynet.
"Seeing a close friend go through something like this is very shaking. Seeing someone like David, who chooses to channel his pain and continue creating events and making people dance where dancing becomes sacred. For many years, the trance scene was underground, perhaps a bit maligned, mysterious. As I said on stage - in ancient cultures, when you want to heal something in life, you enter a trance, release the old things, and accept the new ones, and that’s what David is doing - he chooses to keep making people dance. I admire him, and that was the most important thing for me today in the performance. To be with him and give him the strength to keep doing good in life."
And how was it to perform in front of all these people?
"It’s a very powerful event, and it’s a great joy to see beautiful, happy children and not to see children on posters, which is what we’ve become accustomed to seeing. It's an enormous gift. It’s a great privilege."