Ron Segev gave an emotional presentation about his escape from the Nova Music Festival and how StandWithUs is empowering young students.
Marcia Caller Jaffe | Atlanta Jewish Times | June 11, 2025
As one who cares, Harold Cohn is taking action to raise the profile of StandWithUs (SWU), an organization that he feels could use more attention in Atlanta because of its timely meaning and purpose.
StandWithUs’ mission is supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism around the world by empowering leaders with knowledge and pride. Although it’s been around for 20 years, the timing now makes it even more compelling, especially when it comes to reaching kids before high school.
On May 19, Cohn hosted a core group of community leaders at The Dupree building in Sandy Springs to hear Ron Segev, a survivor of the Nova Music Festival attack on Oct. 7, who has relayed the horrors of that day to audiences in New York , New Jersey, and major cities like Los Angeles, Miami and even individual house gatherings, in addition to appearing at Congregation Etz Chaim the following evening.
Prior to Segev’s presentation, SWU’s Avi Posnick explained that their programs are akin to the IDF, meaning that everyone knows frontline basic training, thus “every student has to be frontline. SWU is on six continents and starts in middle schools with trained educators.”
He spoke of the unacceptability last month of college graduation ceremonies being hijacked, and SWU’s cadre of pro bono legal advice and the ability to file suits. He noted, “This fire started long before Oct 7.”
He introduced two SWU mentors who help students combat antisemitism: Adam Blue and Sivan Barzeski, the Southeast high school regional manager, who explained that she was not prepared (before this position) as a Columbia University senior. Thus, now she uses blogs, Instagram, social media, and Shalom letters to give “ammunition as words” to students.
Tel Aviv native Segev walked the audience through his inch-by-inch recount of his harrowing experience avoiding snipers, running, going from car to car, in the woods, hiding on the ground, all with his sick asthmatic brother gasping for air.
He began, “I’ve been to over 100 festivals. There I was at 5:30 a.m. with dance floors, DJs, little shops, waiting for sunrise to be the best moment, when at 6:20 a.m. the music stopped, rockets turned the sky from blue to gray.”
The disorienting part was not understanding the scope of the attack, if the IDF would be arriving any second to secure this small area. He explained the traffic jam as they tried to exit Road 232 with kibbutzim on either side, police blocking movement … “running, running, people running, the shots getting closer. We’d catch our breaths, then more shots. I’m saying ‘goodbye’ in my head, then we grabbed an abandoned car, terrorists shooting. I believe G-d was there.”
His SUV with nine people grew to 11 when he realized this was war, not just terrorism. Eleven became 12 in the car and three in the trunk. He then realized a kibbutz gate looked askew and chose to make a U-turn, when his brother screamed that he’s having a heart attack. That meant an ASAP drive to a hospital at 110 miles per hour “which was more dangerous that the rockets.” No ambulances were available at 10:30 a.m. Thankfully, his brother was just experiencing a panic attack.
Segev, a master class bridge player, looks back at the significance of the number 13, when he had a bar mitzvah and started playing bridge, the 13 souls in his car (one in utero) all relating to love, AHAVAH 31 in numbers. “I’m not being a hero, but my bridge expertise and me being ‘an outside-the-box thinking’ led to some intuitive decisions and critical thinking that may have resulted in survival.”
Segev, who stated that he is still in therapy, said it helps to talk about the experience; and he is often recognized on the streets of New York because of his work with The Tribe of Nova, recounting his story. He shared, “Everyone is in mourning in Israel. Even Muslims and Christians know someone who died.”
Posnick closed with his last plea for support, “Help us go out of business.”
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