David Listsov, 34: Rave security guard who was ‘cheerful and kind’
Slain by Hamas terrorists while attempting to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7
David Listsov, 34, from Kiryat Yam, was killed at the Supernova music festival on October 7.
David was working as a member of the security team at the festival when the rocket fire began, heading up a team of about 20 people, according to a state eulogy. He began to oversee the evacuation of the partygoers, but when the scope of the invasion became clear, he decided to try and save four of his workers and they got in a car and fled via the forest.
When they were attacked by Hamas gunfire, he told the others to get out of the car and he continued driving, drawing their fire and allowing all four to escape with their lives.
David was buried on October 10 at the Tel Regev cemetery outside Haifa. He is survived by his wife, Julia, his son from a previous marriage, Adrian, 7, and his stepdaughter, Barbara, as well as his parents, Natalia and Michael, and his sister Ksenia.
Born in Zlatoust, Russia, David moved to Israel at age 15 in 2003 with his father, settling in Haifa. He trained in judo for many years, and even earned a certification in judo instruction from the Wingate Institute. He worked as a security guard since he was young, working his way through the ranks to oversee a staff of other guards.
His friend, Olga Paradenko, wrote online of their “17 years of friendship, endless memories, some from the teenage years, were cut short when you went to work to secure the Nova festival. Even though we weren’t so close in recent times, we always knew that we would be there for each other.”
In a video played at a state Memorial Day service, his ex-wife, Vika, said that David “was very ambitious, he was always goal-oriented, he always knew how to achieve his goals. He never rested for a moment, he was always looking for the next challenge, the next aspiration.”
“He was a father who loved to take our son to hang out, he was a kid himself, he loved playing with him, to goof around with him,” she added. “He was a guy who always made you feel safe, it made sense that he worked in security, you always felt secure with him,” she said, noting that he was a dominant father figure to his stepdaughter as well after he married Julia following their divorce.
His sister, Ksenia, told a Russian-language news outlet that her brother’s bravery saved the lives of the four people with him.
“He was cheerful, kind, never refused to help. He always helped us,” she said. “He loved children very much. He always sent gifts for birthdays. He was generous — he paid for our trips to Israel. He joked, he laughed. He was strong and very big! He was kind, but fair and savvy — you couldn’t fool him.”
He had a number of tribulations in life, she said, “but ultimately he was able to get back on his feet and gradually find his place. He had many friends.”
