“Time dulls it a little, but then we return to October 7, and I am always shocked anew that Shani is no longer with me,” said Ricarda (Riki) Louk, the mother of Shani Louk, in an interview with the German Jewish newspaper Judische Allgemeine.
Riki added: “Sometimes I feel as if Shani is still abroad and will knock on the door one day, but I know that will not happen. I am reminded of the images with Hamas terrorists and their rifles.”
Shani Louk, a German citizen, was murdered and abducted from the Nova music festival on the morning of the massacre. Her abduction was documented, and an image of her body lying in a pickup truck surrounded by Hamas terrorists reverberated across media outlets worldwide. AP photographer Ali Mahmoud, who documented the abduction, won an award in a photo competition. Despite the shock, Shani’s father told Ynet at the time that he was “glad the photo was published because it is important. This is Israel’s case, to show what is evil.”
Shani was returned for burial by the Israeli military in May 2024. In the interview with Judische Allgemeine, Riki said: “I will carry the images with me forever. Shani is lying in the back of the pickup truck, twisted, with the terrorists. I will not forget how she was taken to Gaza and people spit on her head. Those images will probably never leave me. I remember how my son received that video and collapsed in shock.
“Unfortunately, I see again and again in the news in Germany that the subject of October 7 is fading into the background. People have already forgotten how it all began, and the focus has shifted to Gaza, to Israel and to the war. Shortly after the massacre, efforts to pressure Hamas to release the hostages and end the war already became less of a priority. The pressure and the burden were placed solely on Israel. I simply cannot understand that. It is unbelievable that a massacre as large as the one that occurred on October 7 could simply be forgotten,” she said.
She added: “I cannot understand how a terrorist organization held German civilians hostage for years and it was barely discussed in Germany. Apparently no one cared that there were also German hostages in Gaza. It seems no one noticed. That is completely incomprehensible to me. Why was no additional pressure exerted by Germany on Hamas? That would have immediately led to a ceasefire and an end to the war.
“I remember that in September 2025 there was a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Six people were murdered and at least 20 were seriously wounded. Terrorists brutally shot people on a bus, and the reactions I saw in Germany were, ‘Israel killed many more people.’ They compared victims of war to civilians on their way to work who were brutally shot on a bus. That is completely inconceivable.”
She also spoke about Shani, who was optimistic and said that “there are no bad people.” “She said there are only suffering people. She maintained her faith in humanity and was very optimistic,” her mother said. “Shani always believed in the good. She had many connections and friends all over the world. Origin and religion were completely irrelevant to her. I always believe we must continue in that direction and be more tolerant, judge others less and see the good in people. Hold on to the positive.
“I still have hope that something good can grow out of the horrors. I think about the many victims, the soldiers who were killed and also about the Palestinians. I hope the ceasefire holds and that better lives can grow for all sides. To the younger generation in Germany, I can only say: Do not blindly follow every trend or movement, such as demonstrations that claim to be pro-Palestinian. Think for yourselves, form your own opinions. Be well informed about why you are taking to the streets, for or against. Question things, learn about both sides, learn historical events. Learn everything you can, but not from social media, where fake news is spread. Maintain tolerance and beware of spreading hatred.”