One year after deadly Hamas attack, survivor shares miraculous escape story during Maryland visit
BALTIMORE -- Monday marks one year since a group of Hamas militants launched a deadly attack at a music festival in Southern Israel, which increased tensions and fueled a year of violence in the Middle East.
A local Pikesville synagogue is honoring the lives lost on that terrifying day and telling the stories of those who survived.
Matan Boltax remembers the morning of the concert when he was at the Nova Music Festival getting ready to enjoy several performances before it turned deadly and terrifying. On Sunday night, he shared his story of how he made it out safely at Ariel Jewish Center in Pikesville, calling his escape a miracle.
After air strikes and automatic gunfire, Hamas terrorists killed nearly 1,200 people in Southern Israel in the attack. This is the single deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
"Despite all the loss and death and tragedy, there's at least for me, there's really a feeling of hope and rebuilding," Boltax, 23, said.
The moments of the attack
When it began, Boltax recalled staying on the festival grounds waiting for the rockets to stop.
"Usually, these rocket barrages happen for about five minutes, and then, as crazy as it sounds, life kind of goes back to normal," Boltax explained. "This was going on for about 30 minutes and didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon."
He then left the festival first by car, driving on dirt roads through fields trying to avoid pick-up trucks with Hamas gunman inside. After finding a nearby village, he fled on foot to seek shelter in a stranger's home.
Meanwhile, two people he went to the festival with did not survive, including one who was taken captive and later killed.
"It's crazy to think that that could have been me, just as a matter of two split decisions," Boltax explained.
Boltax, born in Long Island, moved to Israel with his family when he was 9-years-old. He served in the Israel Defense Forces and participated in the reserves immediately after this attack.
He explained that the country is far from a war zone, as people trying to build back stronger amid more attacks.
"Even now last week, when there was this huge attack from Iran, I was working at a wedding, and the wedding stopped for two hours," Boltax said. "It's just really surreal how two hours later, [the] wedding went on normally."
Rabbi Velvel Belinsky runs Ariel Jewish Center and served as the event's moderator. He spoke about the importance of passing Jewish traditions and customs to the next generation as well as the importance of continuing to keep the Jewish faith alive in the U.S.
"The darker the world around us is, the more desperately it needs light, and the darker the world is around us, the more this light is seen," Rabbi Belinsky said.
Boltax says while rocket attacks are happening frequently, Israelis are trying to live life to the fullest, shining their light in the hopes of a brighter tomorrow.
"Obviously, no one deserves to go through this but [my goal in] coming here [is] showing how strong and resilient [we are] and how everyone's moving forward towards a better future," Boltax added.
Baltimore was the first stop for Boltax in the U.S. He will now travel to several states and cities sharing his story before traveling back to Israel to begin his college studies.