On February 7th, Shani Louk would have celebrated her 23rd birthday. Instead, her family and friends gathered at a reception for the opening of her art exhibit, "Forever Young, Forever Art," at the Gutman Museum in Tel Aviv.
"I can hear her talking to me. I hear her talking in my head, saying 'Oh my G-d! This is amazing!' because - it's like - her dream come true - to make this exhibition - to put her art out there and not just on papers at home," said her aunt, artist Rinat Louk-Elchaik, who curated this event along with Noa Halfi.
Shani had taken to designing tattoos and had moved to Tel Aviv recently to do so, where she lived with roommates. Her love of geometric shapes and Japanese art inspired her designs, many of which weren't discovered until her mother, Ricarda Louk, came to Tel Aviv to do the daunting task of going through her daughter's apartment to clear out her things.
"I couldn't believe the drawings I found. I left with a full binder of her work."
Her mom has also come to know more about her daughter from Shani's many friends.
"She took them in, those who were struggling. They wanted to be near her energy and receive her advice," she told me. "She had an incredibly unique perspective and believed there were no bad people, just people who'd had a 'bad time.' She cooked meals for everyone, as she didn't see the point in only cooking for herself. She was like a mother to her friends."
Shani's impact on her friends was evident at the reception I feel honored to have attended, as the tears flowed freely by both men and women, as they embraced and rocked back and forth to the live music.
Several songs were played by various friends and family members, including Hila Elchaik, Shani's cousin singing "Aviv Gefen" - "To Cry For You," which can be seen here on YouTube.
Osher Cohen's song "Dance," performed by Mayan Louk, accompanied on the guitar by her uncle, Danny Weintraub (song heard in video at the end of this article of Shani's friends) and also here on YouTube.
Eliya Bar-Noy played "Home," based on a poem by Shani entitled "Where Will I Go?" which Ms. Bar-Noy transformed into a song that is being produced in Israel, using Shani's poem as song lyrics and adding beautiful music. She performed "Home" at this February 7th opening reception, which can be watched below or on YouTube here with song lyrics.
What undoubtedly makes the murder of such a beautiful young woman even harder to grieve is the depraved way in which she left this world, having been one of the first and most recognizable faces of the October 7th attack, which killed 1200+ Israeli civilians - at least 360 young people from the Nova Music Festival alone - an international music festival to celebrate love and peace.
I had seen her mother's three interviews on CNN, beginning with the sickening clip of her daughter being paraded through the streets of Gaza, lying face down in the back of a pick-up truck half naked, with terrorists' legs lying on top of her, grasping a fistful of her hair as crowds ran after the truck cheering, filming and spitting on her.
"We couldn't tell if she was dead or alive, but the video didn't look good," I watched her stunned mother tell Anderson Cooper.
For three long weeks following Hamas's live streaming of this video, it was assumed that Shani was kidnapped, so Mrs. Louk traveled with the Family Forum, stressing that she is a German citizen who moved to Israel after falling in love with Shani's father Nissim in Thailand, after which she converted to Judaism and made a life here in Israel. Shani is therefore German-Israeli and a household name in Germany and throughout the world.
After Ricarda received a phone call that Shani was seen in a "Hamas hospital," hopes remained high that she was indeed alive, but the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) then found a piece of her skull, a piece "necessary to live," and this was discovered in Israel, which meant Shani had passed away on the first day of the attack and was no longer alive in the Hamas video, posted at 10am on the day of the largest terror attack in modern Israel's 75-year history and the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
"Her friends, like everyone in Israel, know many people who were killed and kidnapped that day," her mother told me. "Shani's close friend, Keshet Kassaroti, was also murdered, and her boyfriend, Orión Hernández Rado of Mexico, is still a hostage in Gaza."
As I watched the young people at this beautiful event celebrating Shani through her artwork, I could only imagine their struggle to cope with such trauma - not just from the loss of Shani's incredible love and spirit - but to have to come to terms with her violent end.
I'd been afraid to ask her mom if there was any relief when it was determined that Shani had indeed been killed and wasn't being held captive, but Ricarda admitted that there had been. Given that we are now on Day 131 of this war, with 134 civilians still being held hostage in the tunnels of Gaza - a number that includes 13 young beautiful women whose stories are harrowing (based on testimony of released hostages) - imagining Shani suffering at the sadistic hands of Hamas terrorists for all of this time would be excruciating.
"At least this way she didn't suffer for too long, and we were able to grieve and are able to celebrate her art in a way that she would love," Ricarda said.
"Not every 22-year-old woman would have already traveled to North America, Mexico, all over Europe and Egypt," her mom told me proudly. "Not every young woman would have already lived such a full life and would have so much to leave behind and share with the world, but Shani does."
Her aunt Rinat Louk-Elchaik, fellow artist, added color to the memory of Shani with every word in the video at the beginning of this piece.
"I feel a kind of...joy. I feel her spirit is right here. She is right here next to you. She's here and she is happy, not to go with this hard and dark memory that everybody has, but - the light she had in her spirit...the good and the art, the happiness, the energy...she was a very spiritual woman and you can see it in her art. She was very delicate, but also strong. Strong, but gentle. That was Shani."
Shani is survived by her father Nissim, her mother Ricarda, her sister Adi (25), her brother Amit (20), her brother Or (14), her grandmother Nicole who spoke at the reception, and both grandparents on Ricarda's side, who reside in Germany.
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The Tel Aviv exhibition has been extended until the end of February at the Gutman Museum at 21 Rokach Shimon in Tel Aviv.
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MAY 17TH UPDATE: Upon waking today, on what is my first birthday since October 7th, I learned that the body of Shani Louk had been found by the IDF. Along with her were the bodies of female hostage Amit Bouskila and Itshak Gelernter, who were assumed hostages all of this time, but who it now turns out were dead since October 7th, along with Shani. The bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza, and have been transferred to medical professionals for forensic examination. Shani's father Nissim said that Shani's body was well-preserved, as it was kept in a deep and very cold tunnel." For Shani's family, this of course brings up the memories from when they first learned she was killed, but it is now a relief to bring her home and bury her close by, and have their desperately needed closure. “We want to remember Shani as the beautiful and peace-loving person she was, who loved music, dancing and life. She brought us and many other people in the world light and the belief in good. This is how we choose to remember Shani,” the family said in a statement to CNN. For the other two families however, this news comes on Day 222 of the war, after seven months of hoping and praying their loved ones would be returned home alive.
This nightmare continues to continue, day in and day out, for all of the families in Israel and for all of us as a society, national, and international community of Jews. May the families be comforted in darkest of hours, and may the memories of Shani, Amit and Itzchak be a blessing for everyone who knew and loved them.
In case you want to help:
This is a labor of love and I feel called to do it, but is costing a small fortune, between flights, rent at home, accommodation in Israel and the building of this website. I've started a GoFundMe in the hopes of getting help to stay here another month or two to conduct these interviews. Any donation, no matter how small, will go toward accommodation and bare bone travel expenses. Anything at all will be tremendously helpful and very much appreciated. With gratitude, Melanie
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