Tag: Nova Music Festival

On July 1, during Federation Day at the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Gallery Place, Jackson Siegal of In-Rel Properties showed up with purpose.

He didn’t come alone. He brought his team: five maintenance men, straight from the job site, pockets full of screwdrivers and flashlights.

At the security checkpoint, they handed over their tools. A small, routine act. But upstairs, those everyday objects stood in quiet, haunting contrast to what lay on the tables.

Phones. Backpacks. Jewelry. Sandals. Not items people forgot, but belongings of those who were hunted, kidnapped, and murdered on October 7. Artifacts recovered from the site of the massacre.

Jackson’s team moved through the exhibit slowly, together. At the table of artifacts, a volunteer who had helped clean and catalog each item spoke with quiet steadiness, explaining what had happened on October 7. She had washed away the blood so the victims’ families wouldn’t have to see it. But she left the dust on the shoes. Just as they were found.

Dust from the earth where people danced, where thousands fled, where hundreds were murdered.

At one point, Jackson and the volunteer slipped into Hebrew. One of the younger workers leaned in to translate into Spanish for an older teammate. No one asked him to. He just did.

That kind of instinct—across languages, generations, and lived experience—is exactly what Federation Day was made to hold. A moment to show up. To witness. To carry memory together.

Jackson, who recently joined Federation’s Real Estate Network, didn’t say much. But the way he moved through the exhibit—asking questions, staying present—set the tone for his team.

Moments like this have defined the exhibit since it opened here in Greater Washington. Earlier in the run, a survivor spotted something he never expected: his hat.

Not just any hat. The one his friends always borrowed for pictures. The one that made people smile. The one everyone said made him look like Bruno Mars.

He left it there. Because it wasn’t just his anymore. It was part of the story now.

Something shifted for Jackson’s team, too. They didn’t just visit. They paid attention. They stayed with it.

They arrived with the tools of their trade. They left with something harder to name—but just as real. A story to carry. A truth to hold.

This is what it means to show up for one another. This is how memory becomes action.

Bringing the exhibit to Washington made space for moments like this—quiet, human, unforgettable. The kind that help us hold the truth and carry it forward, together.

On Wednesday, June 18, the most generous members of the Greater Washington Jewish community gathered for an unforgettable evening at the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Washington, DC—a powerful, immersive tribute honoring the lives lost and the strength of survivors following the October 7 terror attack.

This wasn’t just an event. It was a reckoning. A moment that asked each of us: What will you do with what you now know?

Inside the exhibition—transformed from a site of celebration into sacred ground—we walked through a landscape once alive with music, freedom, and light. The same landscape where, on October 7, thousands of young people were dancing in the desert when terror struck. The attack didn’t just take lives—it targeted joy itself.

But joy, as our community was reminded, is resilient.

Survivors and community leaders took the stage to bear witness—and to ask us to do the same.

Noa Beer, one of the Nova Festival’s original organizers and a survivor of the attack, stood before us and declared: “You are now witnesses.” Her story turned presence into purpose.

Brian Levenson spoke to the strength of our chevra—our sacred circle of trust that shows up in moments that matter. He reminded us that Jewish identity is shaped not just by what we endure, but by what we choose to stand for.

Marla Schulman, incoming chair of Federation’s Community Leadership Council, shared how her trips to Israel were canceled—visits to grantees and leadership programs postponed because of escalating violence. Her family in Tel Aviv continues to live under constant threat. Walking through the exhibit, she imagined her own children among the young people at Nova. “This exhibition,” she said, “tells the story not through headlines, but through the beat that stopped and the lives that were shattered.”

And Mollie Bowman—soon to be a mother, and a third-generation Holocaust survivor—stood in the raw space between grief and hope. “I’m filled with fear for the world my child will inherit,” she said, “and I am also audaciously hopeful that they may change it for the better.”

This evening wasn’t just about remembrance. It was about responsibility.

It wasn’t only for those in the room. It’s for everyone.

Step Into the Story

Stand with our Greater Washington community at Federation Day at the Nova Exhibition—a powerful moment to honor memory, affirm our shared values, and offer collective strength.

Bring a friend. Invite others. Everyone needs to see it.

Bear witness and share the story—on social media, in your circles, and across our community

This is more than an exhibit. It’s a declaration: Joy will not be silenced. Community will not be broken. Truth will not fade.

This is our moment to listen. To act. To carry the light forward.

Stay connected. Stand together. Be a witness.

Burned tents. Twisted metal. Scorched earth and scattered shoes.

That’s what visitors will see when the Nova Music Festival Exhibition opens in Washington, DC—a raw, immersive experience that brings the events of October 7 into sharp, unflinching focus.

Hundreds of young people were dancing under the stars at a peace festival. By morning, 378 were murdered. Others were injured, kidnapped, or left to carry unbearable memories. The exhibition tells that story—using the very objects left behind.

Why Here, Why Now

This city doesn’t just shape laws—it shapes narratives. And those narratives are still under attack.

Nearly two years after the October 7 massacre, Jewish students continue to face harassment for wearing a Magen David. On Wednesday, May 21, two Israeli Embassy workers were shot and killed outside of the Capital Jewish Museum.

Posters of kidnapped Israelis are still being torn down in local neighborhoods. And there are still people—some in public leadership—who question whether the attacks happened the way survivors describe them.

Bringing the Nova Exhibition to Washington isn’t just about remembrance. It’s about truth. It’s about urgency. And it’s about making space—for people to see what happened, sit with it, and decide what kind of world they want to build in response.

A Space to Witness and Understand

The exhibition goes beyond explanation—it brings people inside the experience. Through survivor testimony, personal artifacts, and immersive design, visitors move through the joy of the festival, the terror of the attack, and the heartbreak left in its wake.

It’s hard. It’s raw. And it’s necessary.

Because in a time when facts are debated and grief is politicized, bearing witness becomes a moral act.

But this is also a place for connection—for shared grief, honest dialogue, and the strength that comes from seeing one another fully.

What’s Ahead

Federation is proud to help bring the Nova Exhibition to Washington—together with partners here and in Israel. This is a space for truth-telling, healing, and solidarity—not just for the Jewish community, but for anyone who believes in dignity and human rights.

Ticket sales are now open at novaexhibition.com. Learn more, share this story, and come experience this powerful exhibition for yourself.

This isn’t just about what happened. It’s about what we choose to do now.

Photo credit: novaexhibition.com

Israelis from every walk of life gathered in the desert to dance. Instead, they were hunted.  

On October 6, 2023, Israelis from across the country gathered at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. It was a celebration—a night meant to unite people from all walks of life, to dance under the stars, to share music, and to experience freedom and connection. The desert echoed with joy, laughter, and the sound of life. 

Then, in an instant, it all changed. 

What began as a night of light and love was torn apart by terror. 378 festival-goers were killed, and 44 more were taken hostage. What was once a celebration of joy and community became a scene of unimaginable horror. 

But even as lives were shattered, a different story began to unfold—one of resilience, one that would refuse to be defined by violence. 

The Tribe of Nova: From Darkness to Light 

The festival—the joy, the unity, the freedom to be yourself, to celebrate life with those around you—was meant to be a night like no other. 

And then came the attack. 

What followed was chaos, devastation, and loss. But it didn’t end there. The survivors—those who had gathered in joy—came together in a way that was as beautiful as it was raw. They held on to the memories of what they had lost but also to the power of their shared strength. 

The Nova Exhibit isn’t just an art display. It’s a journey—an emotional, immersive experience that takes you from the joy of that night, through the terror of the attack, and into the light of hope and healing that followed. This isn’t a passive story—it pulls you in. You feel the celebration, the loss, and the power of community. You stand alongside survivors who, despite everything, found a way to rebuild. 

This exhibit is a testament to what happens when a community refuses to be broken. It amplifies the voices of the survivors and honors the lives lost. But more than that, it challenges us: to remember, to bear witness, and to stand in solidarity. 

Why Washington Needs to Hear This Story 

In Washington, D.C., the Nova Exhibit will invite us all to step into the shoes of those who lived through the unthinkable—to see not just the individuals affected, but the impact on an entire society, a culture, a way of life. 

This is a chance—our chance—to be part of something that goes beyond simply learning about tragedy. It’s about witnessing history, experiencing resilience, and understanding what it truly means to rebuild. 

A Call to Action: Stand with Us in Remembering and Rebuilding 

This is more than a story of loss—it’s a story of strength, survival, and rebuilding. The Nova Exhibit invites everyone—Jewish or not, local or global—to experience a story that must be remembered, understood, and carried forward. 

Stand with the survivors. Stand with those who refuse to be defined by pain. Stand with us as we embrace the light that will guide us all forward. 

Their story belongs to all of us. Let’s make sure we hear it. 

To learn more about the exhibit, ticketing process, and what to expect, visit novaexhibition.com. While the site currently highlights the Toronto tour, it offers a strong preview of what’s to come in DC. More information about the DC exhibit coming soon! 

We are deeply grateful to the generous donors who made it possible to bring this powerful exhibit to Greater Washington. Their support reflects the heart of the Federation’s mission: creating space for our community to gather, reflect, and bear witness; fostering understanding through education; and ensuring we remember—together. 

Photo Credit: Nova Exhibition Website