The Therapists Helping Survivors of the Music Festival Massacre in Israel

Techno-trance raves have been part of the Israeli music scene for years, drawing thousands of youth from around the world to dance in secret locations revealed in the hours before the event. These underground festivals are often timed to celebrate Jewish holidays and occur in open fields or deserts.

The Supernova (Nova) Music Festival, one of the largest underground electronic dance music (EDM) parties in Israel’s history, drew 3,000 to 4,000 fans to an open-air space in the Negev Desert in Southern Israel, some three miles from the Gaza border, near Kibbutz Re’im. The event featured 16 DJs from around the world and was timed to mark the end of Sukkot, a weeklong Jewish harvest holiday that also celebrates the historic freedom of the Israelites after slavery in ancient Egypt.

In the early hours of Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists descended upon the Nova Festival turning an overnight rave into the worst slaughter of civilians in Israel’s history and the worst music festival massacre in the world. Upwards of 260 revelers were brutally killed and an unknown number of others were kidnapped and taken hostage.

Read more at The Daily Beast.