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National Post
08-05-2025
- General
- National Post
Terry Newman: Nova festival exhibit shows survivors still paying dearly for October 7
Article content The exhibit continues in the next room which is dark and smokey, with a thin-layer of sand on its floor. Several screens show videos without placards which illustrate Hamas' rampage, including the attackers shooting at vehicles of those trying to escape as well as a recording of a terrorist calling his family to tell them he murdered Jews: 'Dad, I'm calling you from the phone of a Jew. I just killed her and her husband with my own hands. I killed 10! Dad, I killed 10 with my hands. Dad, open WhatsApp and see how many I killed.' Article content Article content The darkness continues as visitors walk through a room with tents and camping chairs with phones of festival-goers plugged in and charging while being introduced to more video stories from survivors. Article content How the exhibit chooses to tell these stories may seem counter-intuitive for their lack of anger. Survivors give full accounts of running and hiding under vehicles or bushes, often injured, or hiding in bomb shelters, while those around them were less fortunate as successive grenades were lobbed into the structures. One man describes keeping a woman, a mother of three, who begged him to save her, alive. They both hid under a vehicle and were later rescued. A medic recounts how the bodies kept coming in, and how painful it was not to be able to save them all. One patient, he told us, had been shot so many times by an AK-47 that he wasn't sure that she'd survive, even with his help. The video ends with their heartfelt reunion. All of the videos in the exhibit emphasized the importance of community and how they helped each other through the nightmare. Article content Article content Article content Towards the end of the exhibit is a warehouse of found items from the festival site which you can pick up and hold, including hats, shoes, purses and wallets. In a video in this section of the exhibit, a woman responsible for collecting and identifying the owners of these items discussed the difficulty of collecting jewelry from the grounds, and, in one example, of having to send earrings back to the families of two women who had been burnt and were otherwise unrecognizable. Article content In one corner, a countdown clock reminds visitors that there are still hostages who need to be brought home. In another, visitors can leave cards of remembrance on a long table where the hostages' pictures line the wall. Article content The exhibit ends with a message of hope and a declaration that they will all dance again. Article content In their efforts to support festival survivors — who the exhibit explains are experiencing psychological trauma including flashbacks, anxiety, sleep disorders, and difficulty functioning day-to-day on top of the difficulty of grieving for friends and family who were killed or kidnapped at the event — the Tribe of Nova Foundation has held healing sessions which have been well-attended by survivors and members of bereaved families, 140 memorials and 120 community day gatherings focused on healing and enhancing mental health. In addition, the foundation has provided US$ 900,000 in emergency grants to assist bereaved families and survivors with living stipends. They have also helped festival survivors, who were largely in their mid 20's to 30's, navigate the arduous process of securing government benefits. Article content
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Brave paratrooper's humble four-word remark as he's honored with heroism medal for saving teenager's life
A Fort Bragg paratrooper said he was 'just doing my job' when he received the Soldier's Medal for saving a teen girl's life during a pool party shooting. Sgt. Brian Lieberman, 22, used his skills as a medic to save a 14-year-old girl who was shot outside his North Carolina apartment on June 5, 2023. The young solider was inside his apartment at the Reserve at Carrington Place complex when he heard the gunshot, reported WTVD. He ran outside and began treating the victim, who was attending a graduation party at the pool. 'I was at my apartment complex when I heard a slew of gunfire outside. I grabbed my weapon and ran outside and identified myself as a medic,' said Lieberman. 'They pointed to a person who was laying in the street. It was surreal. Felt like I had woken up the next day from a crazy dream.' Lieberman's quick thinking saved the young girl's life, and he was nominated for the heroism award. 'I went into fight or flight,' Lieberman told Stars and Stripes as he accepted the award. 'I was just doing my job.' While treating the victim, the shooter drove by the pool hanging out of the vehicle with a gun pointed at Lieberman, according to the Army. 'I threw myself over the girl, almost used myself as a shield to her so she wouldn't get shot again. I pulled out my weapon and returned fire, then continued to treat the victim,' Lieberman said. Once the vehicle left the complex, Lieberman continued to treat the victim. He identified the entrance wound and treated her for shock. 'I was using a Food Lion grocery bag as a makeshift chest shield. She was shot in the lower back and her breathing was affected so I was trying to seal off that wound,' he said. The New York native said he was taught to selflessly help others by his parents. His mother is a nurse and father who worked as both a paramedic and police officer, reported WRAL. 'My mom, as long as I could remember, would always stop at car accidents to try to treat people and see if everyone was okay and try to help where she could,' Lieberman said. Lt. Col. Ryan Boeka, who was the commander of Lieberman's unit at the time, nominated him for the award. The Soldier's Medal was established by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, after the war department declared a need to recognize distinguished individual acts of heroism not involving actual contact with any enemy. It is one of the Army's most distinguished awards for heroic actions on behalf of fellow Soldiers or Civilians. 'I heard the story the night this happened,' Boeka said. 'It was clear right then this was something special. 'I'm incredibly proud of the act of heroism he displayed. Such a great representation of everything this division means and our army values.'
