Jonathan Rom was a 23-year-old Israeli-American who was murdered while attending the Supernova music festival near Re’im on October 7. Known as an athlete and avid music lover, Jonathan grew up in Mevaseret Zion, just outside Jerusalem.
A childhood friend named Tal shared that during the attack, Jonathan broke away from the rest of the group to help a friend who was having a panic attack due to the shooting. They tried to escape together but were tragically shot to death. Tal added, “Wherever you are, I hope you’re dancing.”
Jonathan had recently spent months traveling in South America and had returned to Israel to plan his next steps and decide on his studies. He had a tattoo on his leg with the words to the song “King of the World” by Shlomo Artzi. Artzi visited the grieving family and sang the song for them, writing on social media that while “this is not a pain that a song can heal,” he wished to express love and condolences to the family who lost what was most precious to them.
Jonathan’s first cousin, Daniel Zaken, who lives near Atlanta, said Jonathan was born in South Carolina and moved to Israel with his family as a young child. Daniel told The Washington Post, “His last few moments were helping someone else in need. He didn’t think to run as fast as he could on his own. He wanted to help someone. He was a hero.”
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