TORONTO โ A live testimony featuring Eliya Cohen, held captive by Hamas for 505 days, and Ziv Abud, who survived the Octoberโฏ7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival, will take place Juneโฏ26 in midtown Toronto, organizers announced.
Presented by The Lawfare Project Canada following the recent Nova Music Festival Exhibition, viewed by over 50,000 visitors, the event, titled โFestival to Freedom,โ begins at 8:00โฏPM, with doors opening at 7:30โฏPM.
The exhibition, launched Aprilโฏ23 and running through Juneโฏ22 at 1381 Castlefield Avenue, employed immersive displays, burnt cars, bulletโdamaged stalls, and personal artifacts to recreate the festival grounds and the Octoberโฏ7 tragedy.
Brooke Goldstein, director of The Lawfare Project Canada, said the exhibit โhonors the victims and survivorsโฆ and fosters allyshipโฆ defending human rights and reaffirming our democratic values.โ
The live testimony will support survivorsโ stories and raise funds for The Tribe of Nova Foundation. The foundation offers trauma care, healing programs, and advocacy for survivors and bereaved families.
Eliya Cohenโs captivity testimony has drawn international attention. In interviews with the Jerusalem Post and Israelโs Channelโฏ12, he described enduring starvation, psychological torture, and the murders of fellow hostages.
Cohenโs partner, Ziv Abud, was with him during the Nova attack. They survived grenades thrown into a nearby shelter as Hamas militants killed hundreds of festivalgoers.
The Nova event on Octoberโฏ7, 2023, claimed 378 Israeli lives and left 44 attendees abducted, including Canadians. It was the deadliest single terror attack in Israeli history.
Jesse Brown and Evan Zelikovitz, Canadian representatives of the Nova installation, emphasized the showโs purpose: to remember victims, highlight survivor strength, and affirm โwe will dance again.โ
The Lawfare Project, a legal rights organization for Jewish people, partnered with the exhibition to promote truth, justice, and democracy amid rising antiโJewish extremism.
Tickets to โFestival to Freedomโ are by registration. Venue details will be shared with ticket holders. All proceeds benefit the Tribe of Nova Foundationโs survivor programs.
This article is based on verified information from The Lawfare Project Canada, The Tribe of Nova Foundation, Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Israel National News, and Channelโฏ12.