Nova festival survivor recalls friends killed at Vilnius memorial

Vilnius marked the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel on Wednesday, with survivor Mazal Tezaza recalling friends who were killed beside her. The event was held in Cathedral Square, LRT reported.

Tezaza, 36, said more than 3,000 people from around the world attended the Nova music festival, including her friends Daniel Kohn and Yochayev Ben Zkaria. Both were killed near her.

“The terrorists tried to kill me too. I was wounded, but I pretended to be dead, and that is how I survived,” Tezaza told those gathered in Vilnius. “My friends were like brothers. They loved life and wanted to make the world a better place.”

“This is a very difficult day. I hope we will see the day when everyone is free, safe and happy,” she added.

Israel’s ambassador to Lithuania, Shelly Hugler Livne, said October 7 had changed Israel forever and thanked Tezaza for speaking publicly about her experience.

In a recorded address, Lithuanian parliament speaker Juozas Olekas said the victims of October 7 should be remembered alongside civilians killed in other wars. He called for joint efforts to stop aggression and honour those who gave their lives for freedom and democracy.

Faina Kukliansky, head of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, urged people to remain united and defend human rights. She said Jews had faced persecution and humiliation for thousands of years, but had survived, and called on people to stand together.

Responding to criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza after the attack, Lithuanian parliament Foreign Affairs Committee member Emanuelis Zingeris said democracies had the right to defend themselves, citing both Ukraine and Israel.

Bishop Arūnas Poniškaitis, representing the Catholic Church in Lithuania, urged people not to let terror and war destroy the hope of peaceful coexistence.

The gathering observed a minute of silence. Shmuel Jatomas, cantor of the Vilnius Choral Synagogue, led prayers, and pupils from the Sholom Aleichem ORT Gymnasium sang the Lithuanian and Israeli national anthems.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage. Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip in response.