No one will ever forget the shock and horror that reverberated throughout Israel and the Diaspora on Oct. 7, 2023. Even more terrifying and tragic was knowing someone who was there – at the Supernova music festival or in one of the kibbutzim that were brutally attacked.
David (Yair Shalom) Newman was a high school classmate of my close friend Shifra Jacobs. At age 25, he was one of the 350 innocent people murdered at Supernova, which he had attended with his girlfriend, Noam Ben David. As the terrorists infiltrated the site, the couple ran toward their car; but due to the heavy build-up of cars trying to leave, with so many trying to escape, they sought shelter in a large metal dumpster, along with several other terrified festival-goers.
The group hid there for four and a half hours, but tragically the terrorists opened fire on the dumpster, killing Newman and wounding Ben David, who was later rescued and survived. Many others were killed, such as Maya Bitton and her fiancé, Eliran Mizrahi; Inbar Shem Tov; Hadar Prince; Ilkin Nazarov; and Amit Levy.
In an interview, Ben David recounted her boyfriend’s last moments: “I heard David’s last breath next to me, but I was too scared to move.”
Newman’s sister, Batya, describes how “in his final moments, David kept his composure and tried to calm those around him.” Later, his family learned that he had saved 200 people that day by sending his location to security forces before he was murdered. “He was a hero,” his girlfriend says.
Jacobs describes receiving the devastating news: “Everything was so surreal. I got a text from a friend saying that she had heard David had been killed. I was in total denial. I called her in tears and couldn’t believe that it could be true. David, the brightest person in the room, couldn’t be gone. The funeral was one of the hardest experiences of my life. Everyone was grieving so loudly, all together, in shock. The whole situation was absolutely horrific. Even after that, I didn’t believe it. It just didn’t make any sense” that he was gone.
She continues, “I thought that, just like with everyone, I’d see him again – but we didn’t get that chance or that time. It made me want to reach out to everyone I went to high school with. That’s another thing that David gave – the message of loving everyone. It makes me appreciate my family and everything so much more – and not take things for granted.”
Recalling memories of her childhood friend, Jacobs says, “I remember him as a light. You saw him, and everything lit up. I want other people to remember that, too. I want everyone to know about him, even if they don’t buy the bracelet but just read the article.
“Ever since I met him, he was so friendly,” the bereaved friend says. “He was just the best friend. We used to go to town a lot on Thursday nights – it’s what the teens did. I was always happy to see him and felt comfortable around him. I knew that if David was there, everything would be all right. I want to remember him as my friend, a good person, who was taken too soon. It’s so unfair.”
Newman grew up in Jerusalem’s Old City. Son of Chaya and Moshe Meir, and brother to siblings Batya, Noach, Gavriel, and Dvir, he was close to his family and was a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews. “An experience he never wanted to miss was family Friday night and holiday dinners with his siblings,” Batya says.
Enlisting in the army in October 2017, initially as a driver in the Air Force, he persevered to be accepted into a combat role in the Golani elite infantry brigade. After the army, he met his girlfriend, Noam, and the couple traveled together through India for several months. When he returned to Israel in June 2023, David worked in the events industry and dreamed of opening his own events hall. The couple had planned to move in together after the Supernova festival.
Newman is sorely missed. His younger brother Dvir wrote on Newman’s memorial page: “You were everything to me: a big brother, a friend, a partner, a role model – you were an angel in human form. You were the biggest gift in this life, and you always will be. Thank you, rest in peace my brother, my love, my blood, my king, my angel.”
Batya describes her brother as “a huge and bright light, who despite his large presence, was humble in his character and always respected others.” He was someone who “brought joy to everyone and illuminated every space he entered. Everyone who knew him loved him immediately. If someone was sitting aside or looked sad, he would immediately approach them, talk to them, and uplift them.”
She also speaks about his love of dancing. “David danced through life with joy. He was the first on the dance floor and the last to leave.” She says that he wanted to “see the world, fulfilling his dream when he traveled to South America, Mexico, India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
“David’s favorite things were sunsets and sunrises, enjoying good food, dancing at parties, and simply enjoying life,” she adds fondly.
Initiatives started in David's memory
Several initiatives have been established by Newman’s friends in his memory.
At his one-year azkara (commemoration), Jacobs asked his brother Dvir if he had any of Newman’s stickers left, and he said they were running out. Since then, she has printed and handed out hundreds of stickers of Newman and stuck them all over Jerusalem. Speaking about her efforts, she says, “There’s not a lot that I can do. I’m just one person. But I can do one thing… like with the stickers. Every time I see them, I feel good.”
During Sukkot 2024, along with several friends, I had the honor of sitting in a sukkah outside Mojo’s restaurant in Jerusalem that was built and dedicated in memory of Newman and the victims of the Supernova attack. The previous Sukkot, just several days before he was murdered on Simchat Torah, Newman had helped to construct a sukkah in that very location. Every person who sat in the sukkah at Mojo’s partook in the mitzvah of lei’shev ba’sukkah (to sit in the sukkah) in Newman’s honor.
Shuk 'N Chic bracelet
Last year, Jacobs came up with the idea of collaborating with our friend Imbar Slavat’s jewelry company Shuk ‘N Chic to design a charm bracelet in Newman’s memory. Shuk ‘N Chic, based in Tel Aviv, produces handmade Jewish jewelry and accessories. All jewelry is designed, handmade, and packaged personally by Slavat, and then shipped within Israel or abroad.
After hearing about Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s tragic murder while he was in captivity, Slavat designed and sold “Hersh chocolate chip cookie” necklaces, earrings, and key chains with chocolate chip cookie charms. As written on Shuk ‘N Chic’s Instagram page, the initiative is aimed to honor Hersh’s “beautiful but short life.”
In Slavat’s words, “We must honor life. I want us to remember that chocolate chip cookies were Hersh’s favorite food. I want us to remember his passions, his dreams, what he loved, and who he loved.”
Although Slavat didn’t know Newman personally, she wanted to support Jacobs in honoring his spirit by “creating this handmade bracelet as a tribute to the light and love he brought into our world.” Beautifully designed and deftly crafted, each bracelet has a tiny postcard charm on it, symbolizing his passion for travel. “David had a heart full of wanderlust, exploring the world with a contagious spirit of adventure and joy,” Jacobs wrote on her website on the page titled “Remembering David.”
Engraved on the back of each postcard is Newman’s cherished motto: Hakol mishtabesh le’tova (Everything breaks apart for the good) – a reminder of his optimistic outlook on life. According to his sister, “David believed that everything is for the best, despite all the difficulties he faced. He always lived in the moment.”
Another charm on the bracelet is a crown, which represents Newman’s namesake, King David, “symbolizing the lasting legacy of strength, kindness, and love” that Newman always embodied.
Says Jacobs about the bracelet, “What I find so fitting about it, and so special, is that obviously when somebody is killed, it’s a terrible thing – there’s no positive to that. But when you see what David said, ‘Everything breaks apart for good,’ it reminds you that good can come from this terrible thing that happened.
“This doesn’t mean that what happened is good,” she clarifies. “But when I see this bracelet or stickers of David, I feel positive. He’s still here – in another way. We don’t understand it. Wearing this bracelet feels like carrying a piece of him with us, keeping his memory close.”
On her Instagram page, Slavat writes: “In loving memory of David Newman, a man whose joy, kindness, and warmth touched everyone around him. David was tragically taken from us on Oct. 7, 2023, at the Nova Festival, and his absence has left a profound void in our lives.
“Every bracelet purchased keeps David’s memory alive and supports efforts to honor his legacy. Wearing it is a way to carry a piece of David’s spirit forward, keeping his memory alive in the journeys we continue to take. He will always remain in our hearts.”
All proceeds go to the Newman family and toward honoring David Newman’s legacy, ensuring that his light endures. His sister says that she’d like to use the money raised to buy more stickers. So far, dozens of bracelets have been sold, in Israel, Germany, and America, and NIS 1,000 has been raised. The bracelet I bought, I wear on my right wrist.
May David Newman’s memory be a blessing.
Learn more about the bracelets at shifrajacobs.com/remembering-david/ or follow Slavat on Instagram:
@shuknchic