“You sacrificed your life that morning to help others. You were so unbelievably brave, so utterly courageous till the very end.”

These were the words spoken by Michael Marlowe as he gave a poignant hesped (eulogy) at the stone-setting of his only son, Jake, 26, who was murdered by Hamas on October 7 at the Nova peace festival.

The former JFS pupil, originally from Potters Bar in Hertfordshire, had been doing security when terrorists, having infiltrated the border, entered the site and began gunning people down. In total, 364 partygoers were murdered that morning, of approximately 1,200 victims killed across southern Israel. Over 250 people were taken hostage, including 44 people from the party.

Addressing his son in front of hundreds of mourners at the cemetery in Hertfordshire and those who had joined on Zoom, many from Israel, Marlowe said: “In your final moments, you chose to help other people, to shepherd them to safety, away from those savage, bloodthirsty scum.

"The horrors you must have seen. The horrors and scars we will live with for the rest of our lives. You will always be our hero.”

Jake Marlowe's grave has hundreds of stones with handwritten messages on them (Photo: Phil Rosenberg/X)

He talked about Jake’s love of Israel, which he had moved to in November 2021 as he didn’t feel safe in the UK. “He did not see a future in this country. What a visionary he was. He made a new life for himself in his country of milk and honey.”

It was in Israel that Jake met Shira, “the woman of his dreams”, said Michael. “They made the most wonderful of couples. They really were made for each other.”

Every time Michael and his wife, Lisa, visit Israel, they meet up with Shira. “We go out for a meal with her, and we chat, and we laugh at silly stories about Jake, and we shed tears for what might have been and what should have been. Heartbreakingly, this love story didn’t have the ending it should have had.”

Describing Jake as “a force for good”, Michael said he was “so full of joy, so full of love, so full of life – indeed, so full of hope. He was the most vibrant of characters, with a natural charm about him, with the most mesmeric of smiles”.

Saying that if he could choose three words to describe his son, it would be “a people’s person”, Michael said: “To this very day, we are stunned by the comments we get from all and sundry from all walks of life, all ages, all cultures and all religions, as to what Jake meant to them, how he helped them, how he listened to them, how he advised them. He was loyal, loving, always finding time to either see [his friends] in person or talk to them on the phone.”

Jake Marlowe, the former JFS student, who was murdered at the Nova peace festival on October 7, made his home in Israel in November 2021

Jake had been at the festival with his close friends, Aviv Eliyahu and Shlomi Ziv – “the three amigos”. Aviv was also murdered at Nova, and Shlomi was held hostage in Gaza for over eight months until he was rescued in June.

Talking about how he and Lisa, who have a younger daughter, Natasha, had coped since Jake’s murder, Michael said: “People keep saying to Lisa and myself how strong and brave we are. But to tell you the truth, it’s all a smokescreen, an act. We are both broken into a thousand pieces; we will never ever recover. We are emotional wrecks; our hearts and our dreams shattered.”

But today, he said was “about Jakey… Jakey was the carrier of our dreams. To be called your mum and dad was and is a true honour and will forever fill us with great joy and pride. We will always champion all that you did…you were one special young man.”

Jake was a talented musician, first playing the drums and later, the bass with his band Desolated, earning him the nickname “the Riff Lord”.

Messages were written on a giant "J" at Jake Marlowe's stone-setting (Photo: Phil Rosenberg/X)

The band performed all over the world and shortly after Jake’s murder, a concert in his memory raised enough money to buy instruments for the charity Kisharon Langdon, which supports his sister Natasha, enabling them to form their own band. “Many Langdon residents use those instruments at a weekly JAM session, J-A-M being the initials of Jakey [Jake Aaron Marlowe],” said Michael. “What a wonderful legacy that is.”

A Magen David Adom ambulance has also been dedicated to the memories of Jake and Aviv.

Many years ago, Jake had bought Michael a bottle of Japanese whisky, which Michael had been planning to open on Jake’s wedding day.

Instead, he said he would be making a L’chaim on Sunday, closing his hesped with the words: “You will always be in our hearts, our minds, our souls. Never ever be forgotten. Life can be so joyful; it can also be so bloody cruel. See you in our dreams. Love you son, forever and ever.”