Three years after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, members of the Jewish community gathered at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills to remember the victims, honor the survivors and stand together in solidarity.
The memorial event was organized by StandWithUs in partnership with the Israeli-American Council (IAC), American Jewish Committee (AJC) Los Angeles, Temple of the Arts, the Consulate General of Israel and The Jewish Journal.
Among the participants were survivors of the attacks, including former hostages, those who were injured and people who lost family members and friends. Through personal testimonies, musical performances and a candle-lighting ceremony, the gathering reflected how Oct. 7 is becoming a permanent day of remembrance on the Jewish calendar, much like Holocaust Remembrance Day. Beyond commemorating the tragedy, the evening offered members of the Jewish community an opportunity to find comfort in one another and reaffirm their shared determination to carry on.
Among the speakers were Israeli author and pro-Israel advocate Noa Tishby; Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs; Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts; Kimberly Plotnik, Los Angeles regional director of the American Jewish Committee and Elan Carr, former CEO of the Israeli-American Council.
David Suissa, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Jewish Journal, welcomed nine participants to the stage for a candle-lighting ceremony honoring the victims of Oct. 7, the hostages, those murdered in captivity, fallen soldiers, wounded soldiers, the members of the Kibbutzim, those wounded and victims of antisemitic attacks around the world, including Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, two Israeli Embassy employees fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., in May 2025. Each candle represented countless individual stories of loss, survival and heroism.
Music and dance also played a central role in the evening. Singer Eden Kontesz performed several songs, including “The Star Spangled Banner,” accompanied by her mother, award-winning composer Sharon Farber, on piano. Hillel Coire sang “Hatikvah,” while the Keshet Chaim Dance Ensemble performed to “New Day Will Rise,” the song Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performed at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
Three survivors of the Nova music festival massacre shared their stories of survival. Rom El-Hai arrived at the festival around 2 a.m. with two friends. “For 10 years,” he said, “I’ve been traveling the world and going to music festivals. For me it was the only place in the world where you felt truly free and at peace.”
That sense of freedom vanished at 6:29 a.m., when rockets appeared in the sky. El-Hai and his friends tried to leave but encountered a traffic jam and saw a bloodied woman emerge from a vehicle. Moments later, a security guard ordered everyone to abandon their cars and run.
The three fled into a wooded area, taking cover as gunfire erupted around them. At one point, El-Hai called his mother and reassured her that he was safe, although he wasn’t sure he would survive. He later recalled hearing a woman being shot, followed by the sounds of attackers celebrating and chanting “Allahu Akbar.”
After hours of moving between hiding places, El-Hai and six other survivors were evacuated by a police officer to a nearby community, where residents welcomed them with food, water and embraces.
Speaking at the memorial, El-Hai reflected on the psychological toll of the massacre and the support he received from Jewish communities. “Four months after the attack, I arrived in Los Angeles, alone, confused and with poor English,” he recalled. The local Jewish community quickly embraced him, giving him a sense of belonging. “If Oct. 7 brought one good thing, it is the connection and strength of Jews and Israelis,” he said. “We will never forgive, we will never let hate win and we will never stop dancing.”
Lee Sasi, a San Fernando Valley resident, traveled to Israel in October 2023 to visit family. The Nova music festival was supposed to be a joyful family gathering. Her cousin, Omri Sasi, was among the festival’s organizers and was also performing as a DJ. Lee attended with several relatives, including her uncle Avi Sasi and his daughter Danielle, both also from Los Angeles, and her cousin Nitzan Rahoum.
“My uncle was 65, he enjoyed partying and knew how to make everyone happy,” Lee recalled. “When we got close to the Nova festival area, he was freaking out and said, ‘Here is the border, we are very close to Gaza.’”
When the rockets began falling, Lee initially mistook them for fireworks but quickly realized they were under attack. “On the way to the festival, I noticed those bomb shelters, so I directed my uncle to one of them. It was near Be’eri Junction,” she said.
Lee, her uncle, his daughter and son-in-law Maor, along with other festivalgoers, took refuge in the shelter. When Hamas terrorists discovered them, they threw a grenade inside.
“My uncle jumped to block the grenade and saved my life,” Lee said.
Her other cousin Nitzan Rahoum and Nitzan’s partner, Lidor Levy, who were expecting their first child, were also killed that day in a separate roadside bomb shelter near Re’im Junction. Lee survived for eight hours inside the shelter, surrounded by the dead and wounded, before she was rescued.
Reflecting on her survival and the loss of her family members, she offered a message of resilience.
“We are much stronger than we think,” she said.
Maya Regev was 21 when she attended the Nova music festival with her younger brother, Itay, and their friend Omer Shem Tov, just hours after returning from a family vacation in Mexico. When the Hamas attack began, the three fled the festival and were eventually picked up by Ori Danino, who had turned back to rescue them. “He was on his way to safety, yet he drove back into the danger just to save us,” she said. “He was a true hero.”
As they were trying to escape, Hamas opened fire on their vehicle, severely wounding Maya in the leg, before abducting her, Itay and Omer to Gaza. Danino was also taken hostage to Gaza where he was murdered alongside five other hostages in August 2024.
Maya spent 50 days in captivity, enduring severe pain from her shattered leg and undergoing surgery in Gaza. She was separated from her brother, whose fate remained uncertain until she received word that he was alive. Itay was released four days after Maya.
Speaking at the memorial, Regev reflected on the lasting wounds of captivity and the families who will forever have an empty chair at their tables. “Being home doesn’t mean we are whole again. We still carry the wounds, families still have an empty chair at the table, but we are still here and we are strong,” said Regev. “They tried to destroy us that day, to take away our future, but they failed. We fought for one another, and even after everything was taken from us, we chose life.”
