Some of the biggest names in the music industry come to mind when you hear the name Scooter Braun, and rightfully so, with clients like Ariana Grande, Black Eyed Peas, and Justin Bieber under his management. However, one of Braun's most significant recent projects relating to music is the Nova: Oct. 7 6:29 am — The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition. 

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"I went over to Israel in December," he told The Hollywood Reporter, following the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killing more than 1200 people, of which almost 400 were in the Nova Festival.  "I needed to see the Nova side. I needed to see the kibbutz. I needed to see all of it for myself – and not because I needed to believe it. With Holocaust-surviving grandparents, the attack on Manchester's AO Arena with Ariana Grande, I know this kind of evil exists." 

The exhibit was originally organized and displayed in Israel by Yagil Simony, Ofir Amir, and Omri Sari. "I see the tents, and I see the porta potties, and I see everything. And I immediately go, 'I need to bring this to New York and L.A. People need to see this,'" Braun recounted. After experiencing it there, he decided to collaborate with them to bring the exhibit to the United States. "It's just about a massacre at a music festival that should have never happened," he said. "But music is a universal language and music has to remain a safe place," dedicated to providing widespread access to Nova, as he believes the project rises above politics. 

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The exhibit, taking place at 35 Wall Street in New York City, has already hosted over 100,000 visitors and has been extended through June 22, with plans to bring it to Los Angeles in the fall or late summer. Moran Stella Yanai, a former Israeli hostage kidnapped from the Nova Festival and later released in a prisoner exchange deal, visited the exhibit and found her own shoes among the belongings retrieved from the Nova site on display.

"You see the testimonies from survivors. You see videos from their phones. You see the video that Hamas took and put all online to understand what happened that day," Braun explained. "You don't walk in and see flags. You'll see it is a music festival. You'll see Coachella. You'll see Stagecoach... And that's all we want people to see, that you should be able to have empathy for all people."

The post 'With Holocaust-surviving grandparents, I know this kind of evil exists' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Popular names like Rita Ora, Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi, Lily Allen and Little Mix joined fellow artists and music labels, in addition to industry figures, in signing an open letter titled "#NoSilenceInMusic" on Aug. 1.

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They said "whether it be systemic racism and racial inequality highlighted by continued police brutality in America or anti-Jewish racism promulgated through online attacks, the result is the same: suspicion, hatred, and division. We are at our worst when we attack one another."

The letter also read: "Minorities from all backgrounds and faiths have struggled and suffered. From slavery to the Holocaust, we have painful collective memories. All forms of racism have the same roots – ignorance, lack of education, and scapegoating. We, the British music industry are proudly uniting to amplify our voices, to take responsibility, to speak out and stand together in solidarity. Silence is not an option."

The letter was posted after Wiley, whose real name is Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., went on an anti-Semitic tirade a few weeks ago.

Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram deactivated the accounts belonging to Wiley last week after Jewish groups worldwide conducted a 48-hour boycott of Twitter.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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