Former Israeli Soldier Rom El-Hai to DJ at UF Hillel
Former Israeli soldier and Nova Festival Massacre survivor Rom El-Hai will DJ at a University of Florida (UF) Hillel event tomorrow at 4 p.m. The location hasn’t been posted publicly, and attendance requires an RSVP.
UF Hillel will host the event with UF Fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi and multiple Zionist organizations, including the Zionist Organization of America, StandWithUs, and IAC Mishelanu.
El-Hai said on a UF Hillel Instagram Story, “I’m gonna be in Gainesville again…. I want to invite you all to my party. Don’t forget to sign up. We’re gonna have a great time. We’re gonna have great music, and we’re all gonna dance again.”
In addition to the above Facebook photo of El-Hai in Israeli military uniform, an article on WDUN 75 reports that El-Hai is a former Israeli soldier.
In February, El-Hai was in Gainesville for a speaking event at UF Hillel, where he talked about surviving the Nova Festival Massacure.
According to WDUN 75, El-Hai and his friends got into the festival for free as volunteers, and they were “responsible for ensuring the concert attendees were safe and enjoying their time.”
WDUN 75 reports that El-Hai and his friends “seized the opportunity to start driving away from the festival” after a crowd gathered around a woman who’d been shot. El-Hai and his friends reportedly “wanted to help but knew they were not doctors.”
El-Hai’s speech in February was protested by over 100 people because UF Hillel promoted him as a Nova Festival Massacre survivor without advertising his time in the Israeli military.
Not much is known about El-Hai’s military background, as he hasn’t talked a lot about it publicly. Last time he spoke in Gainesville, a woman asked him what his rank was in the Israeli military, and he didn’t answer the question.
Local activists don’t appear to be protesting El-Hai this time, with no groups making any statements about his forthcoming appearance in Gainesville.
