In Massachusetts, relatives of victims mark two years since Hamas attack on Israel
From abstract art to heart-wrenching artifacts, people in Massachusetts remembered those who died in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
A paramedic killed while helping victims
In South Boston, a haunting exhibit honors the lives of hundreds of people who were killed at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on October 7, 2023. Empty tents, bombed cars and forgotten shoes are on display. Nitzan Schnezinger said her father, Assaf, was a paramedic at the festival. She said he was murdered while trying to help other victims in the horrific attack. He was 57 years old.
"He loved being a father and husband," she said. Nitzan shared her testimony alongside other survivors of the Nova Music Festival terrorist attack. "Each one of us has our own story, but we have these dots that are connected. I met and hugged five people that he saved."
Peace activists killed in their home
Adina Troen-Krasnow said that each creative cut she makes in her art reminds her of the pain of October 7. It's as real today as it was two years ago. The Needham artist says her two cousins - Debbie Shekked and her husband Shlomi - were murdered in their home when Hamas attacked their kibbutz.
She wears their pictures close to her heart. The couple left behind three children. Their 16-year-old son, Rotem, was there when the attack happened.
"She put herself on top of him. She hid him with a blanket - one of my paintings is representational of that - and saved his life that way," Troen Krasnow said. "A few days ago, I would've said healing, but I'm really still grieving."
Troen-Krasnow is now creating an art gallery in Needham called Because Tomorrow Isn't Promised. It features an abstract art exhibit that pays homage to the hostages and everyone who lost their lives since October 7. The couple were peace activists who started an Arab-Jewish School in Israel.
"They started an entire school for Jews and Arabs to live in peace," she said.
From peacock feathers to shoes left behind, family members say it's important people never forget what happened on that dreadful day.
"We are still in it. We're still in the trauma as individuals and as a community," Nitzan said.