Nissim Levy, 30: Deliveryman attended music festivals to ‘feel alive’
Murdered while trying to escape the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival on October 7
Nissim Ma’ayan Levi, 30, from Rehovot, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival at Re’im on October 7, 2023.
When Hamas began firing rockets that morning, Nissim and his friends, Mayaan Mor and Chaim Ben Hemo tried to escape, and he sent a friend a message saying they were stuck in traffic. That was the last anyone heard from him.
The last time Maayan had any contact with her loved ones, she was telling a friend on the phone that Nissim was trying to protect her from the gunshots. All three friends were murdered in the Hamas attack.
For several days, Nissim’s family assumed he had been taken hostage, but on October 11, the IDF located his body among others on the Gaza border.
He was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on October 15. He is survived by his son, Ofri, 4, his parents, Miriam Simcha and Yaakov, and a sister.
Nissim was raised in an ultra-Orthodox home in Eilat, according to a state eulogy, but began to distance himself from religion in his late teens. Still, he maintained a close relationship with his family and they said he would always put tefillin on daily. When he was 24 he got married and the couple had Ofri, but they divorced two years later though continued to co-parent with love.
He worked as a delivery man and was described by friends and colleagues as a hard worker who did his best to make an honest living for his son. Businesses and fellow delivery people in Rehovot said he was well-known for his respect and his constant smile, warmth and joy.
His mother, Miriam Simcha, said in an interview with Arutz Sheva that “he was a happy boy with endless generosity and unimaginable love for others. He always helped, he was my right hand. He was always helping and supporting me.”
After his divorce, she said, he discovered the world of music festivals “and he would say to me, ‘Mom, I love it so much, it makes me feel alive.’ But he was also dedicated to his work. He felt like the festivals did him good.”
His father, Yaakov, described Nissim as a mischievous and happy boy who would never hurt anyone.
His friends echoed the sentiment, telling a local Rehovot publication that “Nissim would always give to people who were in need, he loved everyone, and was full of joy.”
