The Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History hosted a pop-up exhibit honoring the lives taken during the October 7th attacks (Photo courtesy of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History).
Several Penn community leaders attended a private viewing of a pop-up exhibit on the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on Oct. 9.
The Weitzman Museum, located in Center City, invited school officials from Penn, Drexel University, Temple University, and Germantown Friends School — as well as College senior and Penn Hillel Co-President Maya Harpaz — to the museum. The group privately viewed the exhibition “The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition,” which ran from Oct. 6-13.
Several administrators, including Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein, School of Dental Medicine Dean Mark Wolff, and Senior Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services Anna Papageorge represented Penn’s administration on the private visit.
In an Instagram post shared by record executive Scooter Braun, Interim Penn President Larry Jameson was spotted in attendance at the exhibit on Oct. 7.
“Members of the Penn community are grateful to have attended the NOVA exhibit at the Weitzman Museum of American Jewish History,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “This moving exhibit demonstrates the vital role that museums play in educating the community about often difficult issues. Hearing from a survivor of the massacre at the music festival who courageously shared his first-hand account of that horrific day was very powerful.”
The University administrators in attendance did not respond to a request for comment.
Wolff and Harpaz are members of the University’s antisemitism task force — Wolff is the chair, and Harpaz is a student member.
“My biggest takeaway was that we cannot allow what happened on October 7th to be forgotten, ignored, or denied,” Harpaz wrote in a statement to the DP. “The festival was full of young people, many the same age as college students, no different than myself. It is so important that we tell the story of those who cannot, either because they are being held hostage or were murdered.”
Rebecca Krasner, director of education at the Weitzman Museum, told the DP about the exhibits’ features, which include survivor accounts and festival artifacts.
“The exhibition itself features two cars from the Nova massacre that were completely burnt out, so they were shells of cars,” Krasner said. “Once inside, it starts with an eight-minute video with survivors talking about what Nova is all about, the community they were trying to accomplish, the people that sought out the festival, their desire to be in nature and to dance together. After, you transition into seeing actual artifacts from the festival.”
Krasner also spoke on the importance of bringing the conversation into the educational setting and ensuring that Jewish voices are included in the curriculum.
“We saw this as a first step to begin the conversation. We will invite these school officials for a follow-up Zoom conversation to process what they saw and what they’re taking away in a professional capacity,” Krasner said. “I hope they will continue to engage with us on this and bring it back to the students.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — an ex-officio member of the University Board of Trustees — was in attendance at the exhibition on Oct. 7 and led a delegation of business leaders, elected officials, and leaders from various faith communities through the exhibit. Shapiro viewed the exhibition prior and worked to bring it to Philadelphia for the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks.
The exhibition closed its doors on Oct. 13 in Philadelphia, but is still open in Los Angeles.
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