In the video: "Noviver" food stalls at an event for soldiers/photo: Nov Cohen
Nov Cohen will never forget the morning of October 7th all his life. Cohen, 27 years old from Moshav Nachala in the south, who runs a business of food stalls for events called "Noviver", got up to the sound of incessant alarms when he realized that something unusual was happening. The day before Nov had already prepared the next event, Simchat Torah celebrations in Moshav Gavolim in the Gaza Strip, and left all the equipment of his business there.
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"I didn't know what to do, I realized that the equipment was in an area infested with terrorists, and at the same time the army called me and recruited me for the campaign in the north," shares Nov, a reservist in an artillery battalion, who of course was recruited at the beginning of the war and served for four months in reserve in the north of the country.
Non-stop shooting
Four days after the outbreak of the war, Nov received permission to travel from the Western Galilee region to the Gaza Strip, to collect the equipment of his business that was left in the central synagogue of Moshav Gabo'olim. "I entered a war zone I had never seen before. It was like in the movies, the roads were destroyed, cars burned, shields that were simply destroyed. I saw the bullets on the walls, and I couldn't imagine what the people went through on that black Saturday. It was hard."
Nob made the reserves in the northern sector and as mentioned served there for four months. "It was not at all like in the regular service. I understood what war meant, we fired shells non-stop. They attached a weapon to me intended for the drone threat, and every time there was a threat of enemy aircraft infiltrating I had to go out and look for the threat. This is something I never thought I would encounter in my life at him".
run a business remotely
After a month and a half since the outbreak of the war, the event industry is raising its head a little, and Nov starts receiving inquiries from customers looking for food stalls for events. But he is in reserve, and has to manage the business remotely - at a time when many of his customers are switching to competitors. "It's almost impossible to run a business this way. A large part of my employees were called into the reserves, I had to bring in new employees, train them, manage inventory remotely, check all the machines and raw materials, and all this while I'm in the north, 4 hours away from home."
In December 2023, two months after the massacre, Nov receives a call from business supporters in the south. On the line is the Polygal company from Kfar Gaza, who asked him to provide catering for an event the company is holding for its employees in the kibbutz. Nov did not think twice, asked the commander for time off, and traveled for the second time in two months to the Gaza Strip, this time to set up an event. "The road to the area was not the same as last time, but as soon as you reach Kfar Gaza you realize that something terrible happened here."
Nov's cousin, Liron, a resident of Kfar Gaza, was in her home on the morning of October 7 when the terrorists entered the kibbutz. She and her husband managed to escape, but her brother-in-law, Yahav Viner, was murdered by the terrorists. "When I entered Kfar Gaza, I immediately thought about what Liron went through there that day. You can't ignore it, you see destroyed houses, the destroyed infrastructure from the RPG fire, you see the track of the tanks that passed there on the sidewalks in the kibbutz, and realize that there was a very tough battle here. I I don't think they ever prepared an armorer who was going to fight inside a kibbutz."
The reservist who does events for the soldiers
And in the midst of all this madness, Nob found himself doing many events for the soldiers. "There is no great satisfaction in rendering service to those who protect us with their bodies. As a reservist, I will not forget all the goodness that the people of Israel showered upon us, and I am happy that I can give a little of myself for the soldiers."
Nov was at an event on Purim for the war wounded at Tel Hashomer Hospital. "I have seen young people who will no longer walk, heroes who lost their friends and were injured and still manage to maintain optimism and celebrate the holiday. Serving them is the most fulfilling thing I have done in my life. We are here thanks to them, and we must do everything so that they understand how much we appreciate them."
Now Nov's business is back to full activity, some of the regular customers are returning and turning to him, and he is rehabilitating the staff and equipment damaged in the war. "This week a regular customer contacted me for the fourth time, this time it's a birthday event. It's an amazing feeling that there are people who love what you do and come back to you despite the large offer in the field. And now what I wish for myself is that I will continue to develop and grow, and that I will be able to learn from everything I've been through along the way."
Noviver is a business for food and dessert stands for events nationwide. Among other things, you can order many and varied stands such as: pizzas, hamburgers, sabih in parna, falafel, soups, ice creams, Belgian waffles, flavored yogurt, pancakes, hail, cocktails, designed fruit trays and more.
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