RE’IM PARK, southern Israel – On most any day, dozens, if not hundreds, of people visit the Nova Music Festival Memorial site.
Given its status as one of the hardest-hit areas on October 7th and the wide-open space, the memorial is now considered a destination for what’s been called “grief tourism.
The location sits in a beautiful park about three miles from Gaza. Placards remembering those killed and kidnapped, completed with small gardens and memorials, now fill the place.
New Yorker Natalie Sanandaji attended the Nova Festival as part of her vacation in Israel.
She told CBN News, “I just want you to imagine over 3,000 people here dancing, trying to get away from all the horrors of life, and then suddenly being reminded of how horrible things can be. They came here to enjoy. They – we – never could have imagined what was going to happen to us.”
Sanandaji added, “I danced amongst all these people. I was here. I was with them. I was dancing right next to them. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them weren’t as lucky as me and they didn’t make it out.”
She’s returned to Israel twice since then and recently shared her story with
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