Bearing Witness at the Nova Festival Memorial, NYC, Event, June 21 2024

In June 2024 I made two trips to bear witness at the Nova Festival Memorial in Manhattan (link,) taking in footage recordings, walking between the tents salvaged from the grounds, praying the Shema by the stacks of shoes & clothings. I spoke with Omri Sasi, the Nova Tribe founder who survived the massacre and spoke of spearheading the recovery of the survivors in the absence of government support. On the second visit I accompanied a group to bear witness together, and reflect. The Memorial exhibition in NYC has been politically controversial for some. While extremely graphic, I found its design intelligent, restrained, and all language used or testimonials given there was non-polemic and non-hyperbolic. Just humanizing testaments of brutality, grief and resilience.