‘The state killed Shirel’: Nova festival survivor found dead at home on her 22 birthday

Shirel Golan, a survivor of the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival, was found dead in her apartment on her 22nd birthday.

According to her family, Golan suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the horrific events she experienced at the festival on October 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, massacring some 1,200, including in the Nova Music Festival area, and kidnapping around 250.

Her family said they did not receive adequate assistance from state authorities to get her the necessary treatment to deal with her experiences.

Golan’s brother, Eyal, recounted how on October 7, he and his siblings set up a family operations center to help Golan escape the area. Fortunately, after leaving her friends’ car, she was rescued by a police officer who drove her to Kfar Maimon. The first vehicle eventually became a “death car,” in which 11 people were murdered.

According to Eyal, Golan exhibited symptoms of PTSD, including seclusion and social withdrawal. Despite the family’s efforts to encourage her to seek treatment, Golan reported that she did not receive adequate assistance from state authorities. She was hospitalized twice at Lev Hasharon Hospital in Pardesiya, but the family stressed she was never officially recognized as a PTSD victim of the Nova massacre.

Support for trauma survivors

“The state killed Shirel,” Eyal emphasized, adding, “If the state doesn’t wake up, there will be more cases like this.” He called on the authorities to increase awareness and improve treatment for trauma survivors to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Golan was the youngest of five siblings and is survived by her parents and four brothers.

Participants learned of Golan’s death through the news while attending a large Zumba dance event held on Sunday evening to raise funds for psychological support for survivors of the festival. The event took place simultaneously in Tel Aviv and London.

The event was organized by the philanthropic organization JNF-UK and led in Tel Aviv by Eylon Levy, the former English spokesperson for the government during the Isarel-Hamas War and a Zumba dancer himself.

Levy commented, “Sadly, we received tragic news today about Golan, of blessed memory, highlighting the urgent need for civilian organizations to support survivors of the massacre. It’s our moral duty.”