Lior Auvgang, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre in southern Israel on Oct, 7, 2023, and former combat paramedic in the Israel Defense Forces, shared his story of survival, loss and resilience with about 70 UJA-Federation of New York young leaders on Wednesday in Manhattan.
“I feel like I’m a modern Holocaust survivor,” Auvgang told JNS. “God gave me the ability to stand in front of people and talk and tell my story, so I feel like it’s bigger than me.”
He told attendees of the event that he arrived at the festival with 25 friends for what he said was a celebration of life, music and friendship. Only 17 of the friends survived.
Among those he lost was his close friend, Almog Sarusi, whom he described as “the father” of the friend group, because he was always looking after others.
Sarusi was one of the six hostages whose bodies Israel recovered from Gaza after they were murdered in captivity. Hersh Goldberg-Polin was one of the six.
Auvgang told JNS that sharing his testimony has become part of his healing process. In the past few months, he has spoken to Birthright groups and visitors at the Nova memorial site.
“I feel a little bit relieved, and I feel better after giving this testimony,” he told JNS.
The most difficult part of telling his story is speaking about the friends he lost. “When I mention them, when I talk about them, and I tell what happened to them, and afterwards, I need to get back to my story,” he told JNS. “This moment is always a bit hard.”
During his remarks, Auvgang described arriving at the music festival with his friends for a psytrance festival, which he said represented a celebration of life and connection.
When the music stopped and rockets began falling, he understood immediately that something was wrong.
After seeing a friend suffering from a severe panic attack, Auvgang said his instincts as a medic took over.
“It was not a decision. It was an instinct,” he told JNS. “I didn’t even think about it. Suddenly, I’m a paramedic again.”
Auvgang and other emergency responders spent hours treating injured festival-goers. He described treating victims with gunshot wounds, including a severely injured young woman, before terrorists reached the area.
When gunfire intensified, Auvgang fled without his phone or other belongings. While running, he stopped another woman and used her phone to check his location, only to discover that he was moving toward Gaza.
He hid in a bush with other survivors and remained there for more than seven hours until Israeli forces arrived.
During that time, Auvgang sent his mother what he believed could be a goodbye message.
“I just told her, ‘I love you. I’m hiding in the bush,’” he told the audience during his remarks. “Send hello to my family.”
After being rescued, Auvgang said that he learned that many of his friends had not survived. He described the months that followed as a period of grief, attending funerals and shiva calls while trying to understand how to continue living.
He said he eventually found meaning through community, healing and helping others.
“I understood in my heart that my life has a purpose,” he said.
Since Oct. 7, Auvgang has volunteered as a paramedic with United Hatzalah and has pursued his passion for music by beginning work toward becoming a DJ. He said music, which was central to his life before the attack, has also become part of his healing.
“Music is my life,” Auvgang told the crowd. “Music is a way for God to speak with us, to bring us some therapy for our hearts.”
Auvgang also spoke about his engagement to his fiancée, which he said represents a victory of hope over tragedy. The couple plans to marry in October.
‘I was there’
“They tried to diminish us. They tried to destroy us,” Auvgang told the audience. “But let me tell you a secret. They did not.”
He urged attendees to confront Jew-hatred and misinformation by sharing firsthand accounts of Oct. 7.
“Each and every one of you can become a messenger of the truth,” Auvgang said. “You can spread the truth in your own small world.”
Zoe Moskowitz, a member of UJA Young Leaders Executive Committee, thanked Auvgang for sharing his story, saying it “serves as an important reminder of why we unite as a community, to bear witness, to remember and to carry forward the stories that shape who we are,” she said.
Auvgang’s father, Michael Auvgang, who attended the event, told JNS that hearing his son speak continues to bring new emotions.
Sharing his son’s story is important, he said, and his message to the Jewish community was one of unity.
“We have to be one for another,” Michael Auvgang told JNS. “We need to live on together.”
“I want to do as much as possible and confront those who say Oct. 7 didn’t happen,” Lior Auvgang told JNS. “I was there. I know what happened.”
