Bereaved Parents of Nova Victims Visit Museum, Talk Living a Life of Grief

 

The Manzuri’s family’s hearts were shattered after they buried their daughter Roya, who was murdered in the Nova music festival on October 7. They remained hopeful, though, that their other daughter, Norelle, would be confirmed as taken hostage into Gaza.

 

On October 13, a day after they buried Roya, the hopes their daughter was still alive was shattered as they were on a Zoom call with President Joe Biden and other American families of
hostages.

 

In the middle of the call, Sigal Manzuri got a knock on the door. She excused herself when she heard a knock on the door and she erupted into wails when the visitor informed them the body of Norelle was found as well.

 

“‘I just got the knock on the door that my other daughter is dead,’” Sigal told Zoom participants. A painful silence took over the meeting as President Biden cradled his head in his hands and looked down at his desk. When he looked back up with tears in his eyes, he shared his own personal story of grief and attempted to comfort Manzuri and the other parents who feared for the fate of their missing children.

 

“I wanted to hear him promise me that he’ll bring them home. And then I hung up,” Manzuri said. “I think he internalized our grief, listened to us and a few days later he was in Israel. So I’d like to think our words mattered.”

 

Most recently, Manzuri visited the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem with her husband, Manny, and the parents of Norelle’s boyfriend, Amit, who was also murdered at the festival. And like President Biden, Museum staff shed tears as Manzuri and the parents of her daughter’s
boyfriend Amit – Orly and Yossi Cohen – told their stories.

 

Manzuri arrived at the Museum as part of her mission of telling the story of her two daughters to the world.

 

The four adults wept silently as they told the harrowing story of their children who spent the last moments of their lives defenseless as terrorists threw grenades, fired at and eventually burned
the bomb shelter where the two took cover.

 

It’s a story Manzuri has shared repeatedly and each time the wounds of trauma are reopened.
The Manzuris and Amit’s parents – Orly and Yossi Cohen – continue to do so for one singular reason: because the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust must not be forgotten.

 

“I’m really worried people will forget. It’s the nature of people to move on and put trauma behind them. We need to tell our stories over and over again. We want people to know the girls and Amit, remember who they are and know they are so much more than a number in a
death toll,” Orly Cohen said.
It was extremely difficult to see the deeply moving exhibit. No matter how many stories I hear, it never gets easier. The testimonies were touching and powerful. I felt like each person was speaking with me directly,” she said

 

Despite the harrowing stories at the beginning of the exhibit, she is appreciative that such a somber exhibit ends with a message of hope and unity.

 

“The idea of going from darkness to light is really strong. It gives you hope,” she said of the hundreds of handwritten notes of unity written by guests of the museum that adorn the walls at the end of the exhibit.

 

As Jewish families around the world are getting ready to sit down at their Rosh Hashanah table, far too many will have empty seats and far too many will feel sorrow rather than excitement for the year ahead.

 

Manzuri is trying very hard to not let this be her fate and as the Jewish New Year is upon us, she wishes for any family experiencing loss after this devastating year that they “tap into their strength instead of anger. I hope they find a place in their heart for love even though we’re drowning in grief. I hope every one of these families find something in life worth living for, holding onto and cherishing.”

 

And, like the Museum, on a national level she hopes the Israeli people experience unity after far too many months of division and heartache.

 

“Being strong would help us for national unity. We can’t give up on hope. It’s hard these days. There’s a war going on, yes, but as a mother who lost her two daughters and future son in law we’re in a bad place right now and we need to get reunited and love again,” she said.

 

Orly Cohen, Amit’s mother, agreed, adding, “What’s important in sharing our story is that people should know our kids.”

 

“I feel that the good I give will be reflected in the good I receive. We will only overcome if we remain together. Amit’s siblings are not doing well – and it’s not just the nuclear family. This loss wounds people around us too – Amit’s grandmother – my mother – she cannot leave the house without crying. My friends have fallen apart too,” she lamented. “We have to hold onto the half that is left – it’s very difficult – but we have to try. They’d want us to continue our lives.”