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Two days after Nova festival survivor Roei Shalev took his own life, his father, Ronen Shalev, issued an emotional appeal on Sunday, urging Israeli authorities to treat the psychological crisis among survivors of the October 7 massacre as a “national emergency.”
Roei, 30, was found dead Friday night in a burned-out car near Netanya, hours after posting a farewell message online saying he “couldn’t take it anymore.”
He had survived the 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival, where his girlfriend Mapal Adam was murdered before his eyes as he tried to shield her. His close friend, Hilly Solomon, was also killed that day.
The tragedy was compounded by the earlier suicide of Roei’s mother, who died just two weeks after the attack, unable to cope with the trauma.
In a statement to Ynet, his grieving father said the government must act urgently. “We need to flood the issue, treat it as a national emergency,” Shalev urged. “There are 4,000 shattered families, 4,000 survivors clinging to life — with or without support.”
Ronen Shalev said the mental health system is failing survivors who often avoid therapy, believing they can manage on their own. “They think they’re okay,” he said, “but they don’t understand how much they need treatment. These treatments save lives.”
He emphasized that the government must establish a dedicated and professional framework to support survivors and the families of victims. “It’s not just the survivors,” he said. “It’s parents, siblings, entire families paying the price.”
Roei’s social media post reflected deep despair: “Please don’t be angry with me… I just want this suffering to end. I’m alive, but inside everything is dead.”
His father said he had no warning signs his son intended to end his life. “He was full of life, the happiest in the world,” Shalev recalled. “We didn’t see this coming, though we knew he was struggling after the memorials.”
The Israeli Defense Ministry has recognized Roei as a victim of hostilities, but his father insists that others who die by suicide due to trauma should also receive automatic recognition. “The second circle — the parents and relatives who take their own lives — must be acknowledged too,” he said.
More than 370 people were murdered at the Nova festival when Hamas terrorists stormed the event on October 7, 2023. Dozens were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, many still held two years later.
Roei’s death follows that of 22-year-old survivor Shirel Golan, who died by suicide last year after a long struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.
As Israel marks two years since the massacre, calls are growing louder for the state to address what families and mental health experts describe as an ongoing psychological catastrophe among survivors and bereaved loved ones.