Shani Louk z”l, 22, from Srigim
Shani was murdered at the Nova music festival by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Born in the moshav of Aderet to an Israeli father and a German mother, she was raised in Srigim after her family returned from a few years in Portland, Oregon. As a teenager she danced hip-hop and modern dance, loved music and nature, and designed her own clothes.
At 18 she moved to Tel Aviv, studied graphic design, and opened a small tattoo studio in her apartment. She held Israeli and German citizenship, and traveled to festivals in Europe and Mexico.
She went to Nova to dance with friends and was still dancing at about 6:45 a.m. A video of her disfigured body in the back of a pickup, driven through Gaza while terrorists cheered and shouted “Allahu Akbar,” circulated worldwide within hours and made her one of the most recognized faces of the day.
Her family hoped for weeks that she was alive and being treated in Gaza. At the end of October her death was confirmed from a skull fragment found on a road leading away from the festival. Israeli forces recovered her body from a tunnel in Gaza in May 2024, and she was buried in Srigim.
Shani is remembered for her art, her dreadlocks, and her love of music and dancing. Her brother said she was artistic in the way she moved, and that she had fun until the last moment.
May her memory forever be a blessing.
Celine Ben-David Nagar z”l, 32, from Holon
Celine was murdered by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023, while on her way to the Nova music festival.
A French-Israeli new mother, she turned back with friends when rockets began and hid in a roadside shelter. Her last message to her husband Ido said soldiers were coming and that it had been a mistake to come.
She was missing for 10 days before her body was identified. Celine left behind Ido and their six-month-old daughter, Ellie.
May he memory forever be a blessing.