Nova survivor became an ultra-Orthodox Jew: ‘No one but God could help me’

Barak Nixon: “I promised that if I came home to dad and mom, I would completely return to my roots.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Barak Nixon went from hiding in a bathroom stall and narrowly avoiding being killed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, to studying Torah in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem.

He said, “I promised that if I came home to dad and mom, I would completely return to my roots.”

Nixon, who was at the Nova Music Festival when the Hamas hordes attacked, saved a friend who was hiding with him and waited for eight and a half hours in a bathroom stall while he heard terrorists committing atrocities.

As he waited, Nixon recited Psalms and prayed. The terrorists never discovered his hiding place.

When the IDF arrived, they told Nixon and the other two people hiding with him, “You’re the last three living Jews in the whole festival area. No one else survived.”

A total of 393 Nova participants were killed and dozens were taken captive.

Nixon promised God that he would lead a religious life if he survived.

“When I saw Jews being shot to death near me and that no one came to help them, I realized that if I didn’t turn to God, no one else will help me,” he recounted.

Today, Nixon dons complete ultra-Orthodox garb, including a long coat and sidelocks.

Nixon’s new community has embraced him. A few people from his past have questioned his decision. To them, he insists that he has made the right choice.

“What people don’t realize is that I am on the ideal path. They assume I went crazy because of the horrors, but I’m not taking any psychiatric medications, I study Torah and Hasidism, and I’m happy,” he explained.