Hello from Jihad and the World, a product of Kensington Security Consulting. We will look at the Hamas-Israel war, the subject of our upcoming book, Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel, and the World. Let’s begin by examining and updating the profile of Vlada Patapov, known to the world as the “Lady in Red.” Who is she? You may have seen her on television or social media, running for her life across the desert plain at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. Her panicked, desperate look quickly circulated around the world. Her red shawl became instantly iconic, earning her a moniker.

The twenty-something Vlada darted to safety, unlike more than 393 revelers who were pursued by Hamas gunmen and shot dead, some begging for their lives. Hamas gunmen stormed the Nova music festival, killing and taking 40 people hostage. Much of her story is unique, but much of it is common among survivors of that day. First came shock, then awareness, then a response to the attack. Nova’s attendees were in shock because they couldn’t make sense of what was happening. They saw paragliders approaching but didn’t realize they were Hamas operatives. Then came the pop, pop, pop, and the screams. That was when awareness gripped them. They were under attack, and the enemy was killing anything that moved. The party was over, and the response came quickly. Run, hide, plead, or fight if you can.

OK. Let’s set the stage for the attack. The attack on Nova was last-minute. Hamas likely had no prior knowledge of the Nova Festival, as it was initially scheduled for October 6th. The Nova music festival, or Supernova Sukkot Gathering, was an open-air trance music festival held in the Re’im area in Israel’s western Negev desert. Many Supernova attendees who paid $100 per ticket were tickled about the warmth, sounds, and friendship they anticipated. “Nova is like a family,” says a 26-year-old Tel Aviv bartender. “I bartend at many festivals, and Nova is different. People had been preparing for this party for weeks. Everyone knows each other. It was like magic.”

This was to be a party of electronic dance music, which has flourished in Israel since the late Eighties. Festivals and packed crowds are the norm, thanks to a temperate climate and a shared desire to chill out. “There’s no DJ in the world who doesn’t like to come to Tel Aviv — the great people, the great weather. You can party more than in any other city in the world.”

Does this sound a little like Woodstock 1969? There was likely little electronic music at Woodstock, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash did not perform at Nova. At Nova, partiers are fans of psychedelic trance, or psytrance, the intense, celestial dance-music subgenre. A veteran British DJ explained, “The music is based on a philosophy of life. It’s Woodstock with electronic music. It’s that kind of mentality: a hippie culture, but the music is different. These are the sweetest people. They would never harm anybody.”

Ukrainian-born Vlada was among the partygoers. This Ashdod-based wedding planner and mother of one decided at the last minute to attend the festival in southern Israel with her partner, Matan, and a friend, Mai. They came, danced, and sang, and then the killing began. The “sweetest people, who would never harm anyone,” were randomly raped, shot, and mutilated. More than 100 were abducted. We detail the party massacre in Cauldron of Terror, so we won’t go into detail here.

As for Vlada, she was separated from her friends and watched helplessly as people were hunted down and killed. 'So Mai and I started running again, and that's when you see me in the video get into the car of my angel, a man called Yosef Ben Avu. He stopped and told us to get in, and we did, all the while shooting was going on.' There were eight of us in the car. It was a Kia Picanto, and we were all on top of each other. I called Matan and told him I was OK, and he said he had been picked up as well and was safe.” Vlada and Mai eventually made it to the safety of an army base at Tze'elim, while Matan went to one 20 minutes away at Orim. She said: 'The whole thing had lasted three hours, but it went by so quickly. The longest part was waiting at the base before I could be picked up and go home and see my daughter Romi, and I gave her the biggest hug ever.'

During the attack, her primary concern was staying alive for Romi. “She will be four soon, and for a quarter of her life she has known only war. When Romi hears the sirens, she is so scared that she starts crying,” Patapov explained.

"If I had one wish, it would be to have told everyone at the festival one hour before Hamas attacked that something was going to happen, so everyone could have gotten away. I've been in therapy and counseling, like many of the others who were there, and I find that speaking to people helps me cope with what happened that day. If I had one wish, it would be to have told everyone at the festival one hour before Hamas attacked that something was going to happen, so everyone could have gotten away.' I survived, but others weren't so fortunate. I think about that. It weighs on my mind. I am still traumatized by what happened a year later. I've been receiving therapy and counseling, like many of the others who were there, and I find that speaking with people helps me cope with what happened that day."

She is battling PTSD and survivor's guilt. For over a year, she agonized over the hostages. “But it's the hostages who are still there that I feel for the most, and their families as well, the little babies still there a year later. Who would have thought we would still be in this situation a year later?” All the hostages would be returned, alive or dead. But the PTSD? That certainly remains a recurring theme in this podcast series and the upcoming book, Cauldron of Terror.

Thank you for listening to this podcast, Jihad and the World, hosted on our Cauldron of Terror channel. Nothing in this podcast or any Kensington podcast reflects the official position of the United States government. Thank you for listening. Until our next podcast, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting.