Nova site restricted to memorial events, not celebrations, KKL-JNF says ahead of third anniversary

KKL-JNF announced that the Nova festival site will be open only for memorial ceremonies ahead of the October 7 massacre's third anniversary, forbidding camping, speaker systems, and barbecues. Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky compared celebrations at the site to holding a party at Auschwitz, emphasizing the preservation of the memory of the 378 murdered. The organization invested millions to establish a memorial site when the state had taken no action.

Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) clarified that the site of the Nova music festival will be open only for memorial ceremonies, not other events, ahead of the October 7 massacre's third anniversary. KKL-JNF requested that visitors respect the seriousness of the site and the events that occurred there, as well as the feelings of the victims' families. Among the actions KKL-JNF listed as forbidden at the site were camping, setting up speaker systems, and lighting fires, including barbecues. KKL-JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky stated that just as no one would dare contemplate holding a party at the Auschwitz extermination camp, it is equally unthinkable to hold any celebration at the Nova site in Re'im Forest, where 378 civilians and members of the security forces were murdered. Ostrinsky added that KKL-JNF is guided by preserving the sanctity of the memory of those murdered, and that the organization invested millions to establish a memorial site when the State had taken no action on the matter, even three years later.