Nova Festival Survivor Shares Hope Across America

When Rom El-Hai looked up from dancing at 6:30 a.m. and saw missiles exploding overhead, his first thought was simply that the party would end early. What followed would transform the 29-year-old insurance salesman into a voice for survivors and the fallen.

El-Hai had arrived at Israel's Nova Music Festival around 2 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, after volunteering for a ticket just three days earlier. Music had always been his escape, a place to be present and free from the world's noise.

Ten minutes after the first missiles appeared, a police officer told everyone to leave. El-Hai and his friends ran to their car, but traffic gridlocked immediately, forcing them to abandon the vehicle and sprint into open fields.

For hours, they moved between bushes and hiding spots as gunfire erupted around them. Just before 9 a.m., his mother called, and El-Hai hesitated to answer because speaking with family during a terror attack felt unbearable.

He eventually picked up and told them he was safe, wanting desperately for them to believe it. The group faced life-or-death decisions throughout the day, including choosing between two escape routes: a water station or greenhouses.

When El-Hai finally reunited with his mother, the hug wasn't filled with relief. "It was a painful meeting," he told the crowd at Yorktown's Albert A. Capellini Community and Cultural Center, explaining that he felt shame and guilt thinking about survivors who would never embrace their families again.

Why This Inspires

In the months after Oct. 7, El-Hai found strength among other Nova survivors and made a decision that would reshape his life. The regular guy who sold insurance and attended weekend festivals now travels across America, driven by what he calls a responsibility to share what happened.

"I have to tell it," he said, describing his role as being a voice for those who can't speak and for those who will never speak again. His journey isn't about reliving trauma but about ensuring the day and the people lost aren't forgotten.

He came to Yorktown through the efforts of local high school students from Yorktown High School and John Jay High School who organized the remembrance event through Lights of Tomorrow. John Jay senior Aaron Koenig, the organization's president, helped bring El-Hai's message to a packed community gathering that included elected officials and residents.

From surviving missiles in an Israeli field to standing before students in New York, El-Hai carries forward the stories of a day that changed music festivals from places of escape into places of memory. His willingness to share transforms personal pain into collective remembrance, giving voice to joy that was silenced.