Moriya Or Swissa, 24: Talented hairdresser who ‘loved humanity’
Murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7
Moriya Or Swissa, 24, from Herzliya, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7.
Her mother said that Moriya called her shortly before 8 a.m. but she didn’t answer, and she never heard from her again. Eight days after the festival, her body was identified by DNA, she said, and the family was told that she was killed along with many others who had been hiding out in an ambulance that was hit by an RPG, with most of the bodies inside badly burned and difficult to identify.
She was buried on October 17 in Jerusalem. She is survived by her parents, Sandra and Shimon, and her siblings Michael, Eliya and Yahel.
Moriya was born in Givat Zeev, outside Jerusalem, where she lived until age 5, when she moved with her mother to Raanana following her parents’ divorce, according to a state eulogy. At age 11 she decided to go back to Givat Zeev and live with her father, finishing her schooling in Jerusalem.
She grew up in a religious home, but later left strict observance though remained spiritually connected, her family said. At age 18 she decided to travel around India exploring nature, and added the name “Or,” meaning light, to her name. After returning to Israel, she studied hairdressing and worked in a salon, a job that loved ones said served mostly to fund her travels and festival attendance.
Moriya, who was once known for her bright green curls and her many tattoos, also explored creative endeavors, including drawing, baking and massage therapy, said her family.
“Moriya Or got to live life with exuberance, to take it by storm, to love, to fall in love, to travel, to dance, to gather a huge circle of friends, to be a wonderful daughter, granddaughter, niece and cousin and to leave her stamp forever,” wrote her father. “But she didn’t manage to start her own business, as she planned, or to travel in Australia, or return to India, or to get married and build a family.”
Her mother, Sandra, eulogized Moriya as a “a girl of great light.”
“Her big smile and her kind and sparkling eyes will remain engraved in every person she met along the way,” wrote her mother. “She was a girl who loved humanity, loved people no matter their age, gender or color, she loved animals on land and water. She loved nature and she had a blind faith in God. A girl of strong values of love, joy, huge generosity and gratitude for what she had.”
Moriya was creative and blessed “with golden hands,” added Sandra, noting that her daughter made jewelry, painted, cooked and baked. “She worked as a talented hairdresser at a very prestigious salon in Tel Aviv and kept up also with trips and festivals abroad,” she added. “She went to the Nova festival and met there all her friends she had made over the years.”