The Nova exhibition, a commemoration of the 378 people massacred at a music festival on 7 October, has opened in Shoreditch, east London. The location was disclosed only on the morning of the opening, with two police vans and security personnel deployed to ensure safety. The exhibition also honors the 44 taken as hostages and the 19 who died in Hamas captivity.
Survivor's Appeal
Elkana Bohbot, a co-organiser of the 2023 music festival who spent 738 days as a hostage in Gaza, of which 690 were in a tunnel, appealed to potential demonstrators: "Come in for one minute. Not an hour but just one minute. Come inside. That's it." Bohbot, 36, whose pallor reflects his continued trauma, said the exhibition uses documented footage to challenge those who deny the atrocity's gravity.
Exhibition Highlights
Visitors first watch a three-minute film of partygoers enjoying the event, ending with the DJ being told to stop the music due to a "red alert." The next room is dark, noisy, and chaotic, featuring burned-out cars, shot-through toilet cubicles, and belongings of participants. Audio recordings capture survivors hiding under bushes and a Hamas attacker boasting to his father about killing "10 Jews with my own hands."
Another exhibit shows CCTV from a bomb shelter where 27 people hid. Aner Shapiro, a 22-year-old British-Israeli soldier, threw out grenades until a rocket-propelled grenade struck him. He died from a head wound. Five of the 16 inside were taken hostage, with three later returning alive from Gaza.
Lisa and Michael Marlowe, from north London, last spoke to their son Jake, 26, an unarmed security guard at the festival, at 4:30am on 7 October. He said, "I love you. I'll keep in touch. There's a lot of commotion going on, there are paragliders in the air." He never called back. Michael said, "It is important for everyone to see the exhibition. We are not lying."
Global Context
The exhibition previously faced protests in New York, where hundreds accused it of being political propaganda. Aner's father Moshe said such protests show "how important it is to do this exhibition over and over and in more and more places. They don't want to know. But it's not that they cannot learn about what happened." London is the 10th city to host the exhibition.
