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Canadian survivor of Oct. 7 music festival attack recounts experience 6 months later

Shye Weinstein, 27, was at the Supernova electronic music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 when it became the site of attacks carried out by Hamas. He was at the University of Waterloo this week to give a talk about his experience fleeing the area.

Shye Weinstein was at the University of Waterloo this week telling his story

James Chaarani · CBC News ·
Photo of Shye Weinstein holding a camera.
Shye Weinstein, 27, recounted his experience at the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7 during a talk this week at the University of Waterloo. (Submitted by Shye Weinstein)

Six months ago, 27-year-old Shye Weinstein attended the Supernova electronic music festival a few kilometres from the Gaza border in Israel.

He'd moved to the country from Ontario a few months before that and says he was excited to enjoy the event. 

Unbeknownst to him and the eight others he arrived at the festival with, it would become the site of one of the attacks carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7, sparking the current conflict in the region. Citizens of several countries, including Canada, were killed.

Four women photographed at the Supernova festival on Oct. 7.
Photo taken by Shye Weinstein at the Supernova festival on Oct. 7 before the attack. (Submitted by Shye Weinstein )

Media have reported more than 1,200 Israelis were killed that day and 253 taken into Hamas-controlled Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Approximately 130 remain captives of Hamas.

More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory attacks, many are children and women, and more than 80 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced by the conflict.

Weinstein was in Waterloo region this week to mark the six-month anniversary of the attack. He appeared at an event at the University of Waterloo to tell his story. 

He spoke with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo ahead of the event about his experience at the festival, and how he and those around him are feeling six months on.

LISTEN | Canadian survivor of Oct. 7 attack recounts the experience six months later:

The Morning Edition - K-W10:23Canadian survivor of Oct. 7 attack recounts experience 6 months later
Shye Weinstein is a Canadian survivor of the Oct. 7 attack at the Supernova music festival in Israel. He recounts his experience that day with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's James Chaarani six months after the event.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Chaarani

Associate Producer / Reporter

James Chaarani is an associate producer with season nine of CBC's "Now or Never." He also worked as a reporter in the Kitchener-Waterloo and London, Ont. newsrooms and did a stint with Ontario syndication, covering provincial issues. You can reach him at james.chaarani@cbc.ca.

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