Nova rave site has become KKL-JNF’s most visited in Israel
With an average 7,000 visitors daily, memorial near Kibbutz Re’im is proving the most accessible for Israelis and overseas visitors seeking connection to October 7
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The ad hoc memorial site for the victims of the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel was the country’s most visited site between September and February, with a daily average of around 7,000 visitors, or roughly 200,000 a month.
The site commemorates the 364 revelers at an overnight outdoor party that Hamas terrorists massacred on October 7, 2023, and the 40 more abducted to the Gaza Strip who never made it home. On that date, some 1,200 mainly citizens were slaughtered, and 251 were kidnapped to the Palestinian enclave.
The site soon became a place of pilgrimage for relatives and friends. After local kibbutzim tired of strangers traipsing through to view burned-out and damaged houses, it became the leading site for people from all over Israel and abroad to sense something of the terrible magnitude of that black day.
As time passed, bereaved parents took part in a memorial initiative to attach their loved one’s photo and an Israeli flag to an iron rod. Together, the rods have come to form a kind of forest.
In discussions with the families and to help make the site more accessible, the KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund allocated NIS 4 million ($1 million) to improve conditions at the Re’im parking lot. Projects included building accessible pathways, restrooms, educational spaces and a memorial grove, as well as providing durable signage.
Meir Zohar, whose daughter Bar was murdered at the site, said, “As a father who lost his daughter in the horrific Nova massacre, this place is not just a memorial site for me and the other bereaved families. It is a space where we feel that our pain is seen and heard.” Complimenting KKL-JNF on its contribution, he added that he was “grateful to everyone working to ensure that this place remains honorable, accessible, and worthy, so that the victims’ story is never forgotten.”
Yaniv Maimon, KKL-JNF Southern Region Director and the leader of this initiative, said, “We are proud to play a significant role in one of the most visited sites in Israel today.”
Ifat Ovadia-Luski, KKL-JNF Chairwoman, said, “Improving and making this site accessible to the public — while ensuring the dignified and respectful preservation of the victims’ memory is a moral and national mission for us.
“This place is not just a memory of what was. It is a living testament to the resilience, unity, and sorrow of Israeli society. We witness the tens of thousands of visitors arriving here each week, the tears, the embraces, and the public’s deep need to remember and never forget. This strengthens our commitment to continue maintaining this site with the honor it deserves.”
The state has not yet developed plans for a national October 7 memorial.
