Survivor of October 7 attack speaks out ahead of one year anniversary
LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A survivor of Hamas' October 7 attack on an Israeli music festival recently spoke out in Los Angeles.
Rom El Hai survived the attack where Hamas terrorists killed 364 people and kidnapped 40 others.
At the Sinai Temple in Westwood, an important conversation comes on the eve of the anniversary of an unthinkable day.
"Since the Bible, every time that the Jewish people had a tough time, we stay together and we always win," El Hai shared.
El Hai is one of the lucky ones. He survived the massacre at the Nova Music Festival where Hamas terrorists opened fire, killing 364 people. The group also kidnapped 40 others.
On Saturday, he shared his story.
"To give, like, awareness of what...what happened to the Jewish people in that horrible day," El Hai expressed.
Since that day, El Hai has traveled the U.S. to temples from the East Coast to Los Angeles, to Florida and Texas.
"It's almost a year and we still have, like, so many hostages that still didn't come back from their home. Like for them, they're still living in October 7th, 2023," El Hai remarked.
In many ways, El Hai says he still lives in that day as well, and he worries about the possibility of a similar attack happening at other music festivals.
"We all know music is a universal language. And if it could be in the Nova, it can be also in The Burning Man, it can be in the ultra Miami, it can be in the EDC. It can be in the Coachella, so people need to know what happened, understand what happened and never forget," El Hai said.
El Hai says he will never forget October 7, and that whenever he speaks to a crowd, he likes to spread a message of hope. Hope that one day he and his fellow Israelis will dance again.
"I think for our Nova victory, our private victory, to go back to the dance floor and dance and celebrate life and celebrate also from the people that, unfortunately, are not with us," El Hai declared.
The conversation with El Hai, hosted by the temple, is one of many events happening this weekend in Southern California to commemorate the first anniversary of the attacks.
