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Burning Man Features Massive Art Installation, Events Honoring Victims of Oct. 7 Nova Massacre
One component of the “Nova Heaven” installation at Burning Man. Photo: Tribe of Nova
This year’s week-long Burning Man event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert includes a large-scale installation and events that pay tribute to victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel, as the one year anniversary of the deadly massacre approaches.
The installation is called “Nova Heaven” and was co-created by the producers, designers, artists, and participants behind the Supernova Festival as well as longtime Burners, which is the term used to describe members of the Burning Man community, and founders of Tribe of Nova, a community-based organization that supports long-term trauma recovery for Oct. 7 survivors and bereaved families.
The installation features a large arch inscribed with the motto “We Will Dance Again,” replicates the Nova festival’s iconic shade structure, and showcases six wooden spiral staircases that have on each step laser-cut wooden angels engraved with names of the Oct. 7 victims. Also engraved on each step is one of 100 English or Hebrew messages, including “kindness creates miracles” and “music heals hearts.” The short phrases were designed by an Israeli native who was at a party 30 minutes away from the Nova Festival when the Hamas attack took place.
Almost a year ago, Hamas terrorists murdered 405 attendees of the Nova Music Festival and adjacent music events and took 40 others as hostages during their rampage across southern Israel.
Omri Sasi and Sarel Botavia, producers of the Nova Festival, said their vision for “Nova Heaven” is “to create a sanctuary of remembrance and healing” at Burning Man, which runs from Aug. 25-Sept. 2 and is expected to have 70,000 attendees this year.
“This installation is not just a memorial; it is a testament to the enduring spirit of our community and a beacon of hope for the future,” they added in a released statement. “We invite you to join us in the deep playa at Burning Man 2024 to experience ‘Nova Heaven,’ a space where we honor the past, celebrate the present, and look forward to a future filled with love, unity, and dancing once again.” A fundraising campaign for the “Nova Heaven” installation at Burning Man has so far raised more than $31,000.
Tribe of Nova said in a post on Instagram that the installation “was born out of a deep mission and a desire to send a message of understanding, camaraderie, peace, love, unity, and sanctity,” while commemorating the innocent music lovers who were murdered on Oct. 7.
“The installation aims not only to preserve the memory of the victims but also to tell their story and the story of our community, which has endured one of the most severe terror attacks in history,” the organization added. “The installation is designed as a place where every visitor can connect with the spirit of the Nova angels. Our participation in this festival is not just about remembrance but also a commitment to life and continuity. We see this installation as a place for gathering, healing, and finding the strength to move forward.”
The “Nova Heaven” team will also hold a series of events at the installation, including one on Saturday at exactly 6:29 am, which is the same time that Hamas terrorists began infiltrating the Nova Festival. The Saturday event will include a performance by one of the original producers and disc jockeys of the Nova Festival. The last event at the installation will be a concert on Sept. 1 at 3 am.
The post Burning Man Features Massive Art Installation, Events Honoring Victims of Oct. 7 Nova Massacre first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.