Yael Levkovitz and Hani Ricardo
Hani Ricardo // Mother of Uriah Ricardo Litman, who was murdered at the festival
Yael Levkovitz // Coordinator at the Fund for Victims of Terror aiding victims from the Nova Music Festival
HANI
On Friday evening, Uriah, a happy child of nature who loves to dance, was waiting to travel to her mother Hani, who lives in New York, and was excited to spend time at the Nova nature party in Re’im. By Saturday morning, it was all over.
Even months after the Hamas attack, Uriah’s family don’t know what happened to her, and hold close those bits of information they’ve managed to collect: Uriah and her friends, Sharon and Shachar, succeeded in escaping from the party, but were ambushed by terrorists close to Kibbutz Mefalsim. At this stage, Uriah was still classified as missing.
Hani was losing her mind. She flew to Israel to investigate Uriah’s movements, while praying for a miracle. After several punishing days the terrible news arrived: Uriah was murdered by Hamas terrorists together with her friends. Her partner was the one who found her, whole and beautiful.
“Every stage of receiving information was difficult,” Hani says. “But I always had the feeling that any moment they would tell us that she hid or was captured – and was alive. Each step that determined she was dead was terrible. The coffin, the flowers, everything felt extremely close but at the same time extremely distant.”
Uriah was Hani’s source of strength. “I wish every mother a connection like that with her children,” she said. “When she was a girl, I would stand her facing the mirror and tell her to say: “I’m smart, I’m talented, and I can achieve everything. Last year, when I went through a crisis, Uriah told me to stand facing the mirror and to repeat the same words. I feel like the umbilical cord that connected us has been cut. She was a part of me.”
Hani is a musician and a Holocaust scholar. After the loss, she added a part to her composition “Terezin Kaddish” in memory of Uriah.
In blessed memory of Uriah Ricardo, Shachar Manzur, and Sharon Refai.
Yael
Last summer, Yael finished her university studies and prepared for the next stage of her life: a flight attendant course. The war that broke out on the morning of October 7th changed all her plans. Yael, who during her studies had worked at The Jewish Agency’s Security Assistance Fund, decided to return to the place where she was now needed more than ever – the Fund for Victims of Terror.
“After October 7th I began helping victims of the Nova and Psyduck parties,” Yael said. “No official body gave us a proper list, and there wasn’t a choice – I just sat for hours in front of the computer, gathering information about the murdered and the injured, and I got in touch with the families to see how they were and to check if they had received help. The longer the list got and the days passed, so we discovered more and more victims who needed us.”
Alongside the great difficulties, Yael also feels a great sense of mission. “I live and breathe the memory of these precious young people. I get to know dozens of stories every day, their names, and I understand what strength this is and what a privilege it is to succeed in supporting those who lost everything. How important it is to succeed in preserving their memory for eternity. It’s true that I’m just a small part of the system, but I’m part of an incredible group of talented women who are doing everything to ease – even if only slightly – the terrible pain.”
After the photo shoot for the exhibition, Hani and Yael strengthened their connection.
The Jewish Agency for Israel
