October 7 Survivors and Rescuers Forge Lifelong Bonds Three Years Later
On October 7, Nova festival survivor Lala Levi found refuge in the home of Holocaust survivor Sarah Jackson at Kibbutz Saad. Their chance encounter sparked a profound, enduring intergenerational bond.
Lala Levi, 30, from Rishon LeZion, arrived at the Nova music festival on October 7 to work at a bar. She traveled there with three friends and was scheduled to start her shift at 8:00 AM. During the night, she felt unwell, moved away from the main dancing area, and sat down to rest in a tent. At 6:29 AM, seeing the barrage of rockets in the sky, she realized the party was over and began looking for a way out.
Her partner at the time was also in the area, and Lala joined him in his car. As they drove, they gradually realized it was not merely rocket fire. Seeking shelter, they stopped near a roadside bomb shelter, but gunfire suddenly erupted. Lala recounts hiding with her companions behind the car as bullets whizzed past them, until they managed to re-enter the vehicle and resume driving.
Seeking Refuge at Kibbutz Saad
They later stopped at another shelter, where passing cyclists warned them of a terrorist cell further down the road. Lala and her friends decided to push forward and ultimately managed to reach Kibbutz Saad.
That same morning, Sarah Jackson was at her home in Saad, preparing to attend Simchat Torah prayers at the synagogue. Sarah, who has lived on the kibbutz for over six decades, did not turn on the television or radio and avoided using her phone due to the holiday and Shabbat. She heard the sirens and saw young people entering the kibbutz, but had no idea what was unfolding outside her home.
The two shared their stories from that harrowing day as part of a special project commemorating three years since the October 7 massacre. The multimedia project consists of three chapters featuring survivors recounting their experiences against a backdrop of footage from that day, highlighting the human connections forged in the hours of terror and the enduring bonds that continue to this day.
An Unexpected Meeting in the Safe Room
Against this backdrop, Lala describes seeing Sarah step out of her home, look at the group of strangers, and ask if they needed anything or wanted to step inside. Thus, the festival survivors found themselves in the home of a woman they had never met. Though Lala was initially hesitant to enter a closed space, a nearby explosion at the gate sealed her decision. They rushed straight into the safe room (mamad).
Sarah, who still did not grasp the scale of the event, tried to do what came naturally: offering her guests food and drink. During the hours spent in the safe room, Sarah also tried to keep their spirits up by sharing her life story. As a child, she lived with her family in Poland. After her father decided to leave their hometown, her older sister stayed behind with their grandmother, and both perished in the Holocaust. Sarah, her parents, and her brother were subsequently exiled to Siberia, where they survived the war years before eventually immigrating to Israel.
A Lifelong Bond Forged in Terror
For Lala, who was still trying to process the grim reports coming from the surrounding communities and the festival, meeting Sarah added another layer of profound meaning. She and the others decided not to overwhelm Sarah with all the horrific details. "We realized she was a Holocaust survivor," Lala recalls. "We didn't want to stress her out or trigger any trauma."
Though they were eventually asked to evacuate the area, Sarah firmly refused to leave. "I evacuated my home once in my life. I am not evacuating it again," she declared. After a few hours, Lala and part of the group left Saad, with Sarah asking the young people to leave a phone number so she could ensure they arrived safely. Only after the holiday ended did she fully comprehend the magnitude of what had transpired.
The connection between Lala and Sarah did not end that morning. Lala wanted people to know about the stranger who opened her home, but over time, she realized how central Sarah had become to her own life. Since then, the two have kept in touch through holidays, and Lala was even invited to light Hanukkah candles with Sarah's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
"Every such encounter brings us back to the moment when, amidst inferno and uncertainty, a person chose to stop, reach out, and save lives," said Riff Peretz, CEO of the Nova Tribe Community Association. "The bond between survivors and those who saved them is a powerful moment of gratitude, coming full circle, and hope."
