On October 11, 2024, almost 150 Palisades Charter High School students and faculty took a trip to the Nova Exhibition in Culver City, California. But this was no ordinary school trip; this was a trip back in time to October 7, 2023 – when Israel and the world changed.
The Nova Music Festival in the Negev, only about 3 miles from the border with Gaza, was attended by 3,500 people who gathered to enjoy their favorite DJs, dance, and celebrate love and freedom.
The festival ended abruptly when in the early morning hours of October 7, Hamas terrorists from Gaza infiltrated into Israel, where they shot, killed, kidnapped, wounded, and raped hundreds of innocent festival goers and civilians across the south. These attacks led to the current war against Hamas, which is still holding 100 innocent Israelis hostage.
That day, the world changed for so many of us, yet too many of my fellow students did not know a thing about the Nova Festival or any of the atrocities committed that day. So, I partnered with another student, Lily Yadegar, to bring our school community to the Nova Exhibition to learn, to fact-check, and to bear witness to the atrocities that occurred that day. As the president of the Jewish Student Coalition and a pro-Israel club at my school, and a Club Z teen for many years, I saw this initiative as crucial because it would show the students why so many of us are traumatized, as they are seldom exposed to the truth about the situation on social media.
This exhibit was not a report or museum display; it was alive and real. We saw actual remains salvaged from the festival and from the scorched cars and bullet-riddled portable bathroom stalls. We walked through a re-creation of the main tent at the festival and saw a table of personal items belonging to the victims and survivors, including water bottles, shoes, glasses, hats, purses, diaries, books, and makeup.
We saw Instagram footage the dancers uploaded showing their glitter, costumes, and smiles. As young people, we felt the vibe of the festival. We also saw the posts and recordings showing the thousands of dancers happily waiting to watch the sunrise at dawn, not knowing that in seconds, the world around them would change. And then we saw the unbearable darkness and evil that descended upon them in the form of terrorists on jeeps, motorcycles, and parachutes.
Many students of various backgrounds were in disbelief and shock at the exhibition. Some cried as they solemnly understood what had been done to young people just like them. At one point, I heard a student say, “I don’t understand why the Israelis are so mean.” The student thought it was Israelis who attacked because they couldn’t differentiate Arabic from Hebrew and were affected by the biased media coverage of the war. Upon learning the truth, the student was stunned.
The exhibition ended in the healing room, a space created for visitors to reflect upon the horrors. The famous talent manager and executive Scooter Braun spoke about the importance of the exhibition and introduced two festival survivors in their twenties who talked about their experiences. With tears in their eyes, our students hugged the brave survivors. One of our teachers was particularly touched by Braun’s efforts in raising awareness about the festival and the horrors of October 7 and said, “his dedication to preserving the memory of the victims and educating the public about the events of that day highlighted the power of storytelling in fostering understanding and empathy.”
In this post-October 7 world, we must take action to change reality for the better. I am grateful for my Club Z experience, which gave me the confidence to work with my fellow students to take action and speak up for Israel and our Jewish community. On January 17, I will unite with my peers from Club Z at our National Conference in San Francisco and share this experience with them.
The students and staff at my school needed to experience the Nova Exhibition because the more we learn, the more prepared we are to repair our world. As young people, we are blasted with opinions on social media without knowing much of what happened on October 7 or what has happened over the years between the Israelis and Palestinians.
I hope this inspires more students to take action and learn about Israel’s reality. I pray that by the time you read this, the remaining 100 hostages, including seven Americans held by Hamas will have been released. Remember, we will dance again!
Misha Keyvanfar is a high school student in California and a Club Z teen. This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Shaun Sacks.