Elmar Djabraliov 16. Elmar was a ninth grade student, concentrating on computer studies, in the Timon-Naamat High School in Rishon Letzion. He was born in Azerbaijan and grew up in Moscow. He immigrated to Israel in 1997 with his mother, sister, grandmother and grandfather, his father having passed away prior to their immigration. On the evening of May 22, 2002, Elmar approached and watched people playing chess in the City Park, in the center of Rishon Letzion. There are tables and chairs in the corner of the park where retirees and new immigrants play chess, backgammon and cards. A young suicide terrorist sent by the Tanzim (the military arm of the Palestinian Authority), was closing in on the place. Elmar had just enough time to turn his attention from his friend standing next to him to the young man who appeared strange and did not seem to fit into the environment. At that moment, the terrorist set off the explosive belt that he was wearing, causing the deaths of Elmar and Gary Tauzhniansky, 65, an immigrant from Odessa. Elmar’s bereaved family spoke of his good nature. He was a diligent teenager who occasionally worked after school in order to help support the family. He loved life in Israel very much. As with all youngsters, he was used to going out with friends, to dance and listen to music.    Sinai Keinan, but a year and two months old On the evening of May 27, 2002, Chen and Lior Keinan were out strolling with their baby daughter, Sinai – Bubu, as they called her – in Petach Tikva’s commercial center, near their home. Ruth Peled, the grandmother, joined them. They sat in the cafי, at a table in an open area. The place was filled with parents and children. A young suicide bomber, slipped into the area, without anyone noticing him. He tried to enter the adjacent toy store, but the door was locked. He moved in the direction of the cafי, closing in on the family sitting there serenely, stopped next to little Sinai and blew himself up. At that moment, a very strong blast was heard, flashes of fire blinded eyes and shrieks were heard throughout the area. “Save the children,” yelled several mothers. Sinai, a pretty and calm baby, did not survive the attack. She was killed, together with her grandmother. Thirty one people were injured in this attack, among whom were 10 babies and children. Sinai’s parents were among those injured by shrapnel. Those participating in the funeral could not restrain their tears at the sight of the small coffin next to the large one. Chen Keinan cried over the death of her daughter: “She was such a marvelous baby who brought us so much happiness,” and over her mother, Ruth, who was a wonderful grandmother, youthful in spirit and loved by all. The father, Lior, spoke of the strong love that was heaped upon the baby, who always smiled at everyone. He said that Sinai must not become just another name in the statistics of those murdered. We must not merely return to our daily routines. But we have to show the world what harm is caused to innocent babies and children.    Adi Dahan, 17, the youngest victim On June 5, 2002, approximately 60 people were making their way by bus from Tel Aviv to Tiberius. Some of them did not make it. A suicide bomber pulled up to the side of the bus and set off the explosive materials that he brought with him, brutally cutting short the lives of 17 people. The attack was near the Meggido intersection. Thirteen of those killed were soldiers. Adi, an eleventh grader from Afula, was the youngest victim. Forty five people were injured. This was the second tragedy that befell the Dahan family recently. About two months prior to this, Adi’s brother, Shlomi, 26, was killed. He was a tour guide and was killed in a tragic accident when he fell off a cliff in the Eilat mountains. After the disaster, Adi tried to put life at home back on a regular track. “She supported me after Shlomi died, and now both of them aren’t here,” her mother cried. Adi was a beautiful girl, esthetic, and an excellent student. She was very attached to her family and loved by all her friends. “She was a talented and upright young woman, who had yet to realize her dreams,” eulogized Afula’s mayor.    Netanel Riachi, 17 Netanel lived in Kochav Ya’akov, in Samaria, the first baby born in this town. He became a tall, handsome and pleasant youth. He was good-hearted and devoted to his family. Netanel loved history and was well aware of security and political news in the country. He participated in all his class’s social activities. He was loved by his teachers who appreciated his serious approach to studies and the efforts he invested in order to do well in his matriculation examinations. His pained parents thanked the administration and faculty for the good years he spent in the school. All of the town’s residents mourned for Netanel and the community united to strengthen and encourage the parents and their children.    Gilad Shtigliz, not quit 15 Gilad’s parents were among the founders of Yakir, established 21 years ago. Gilad was their youngest child. He was a smart boy, with youthful innocence, coupled with emotional maturity. He studied at the yeshiva high school of Kfar HAROEH, coming to the Hitzim yeshiva for two days to see if he wanted to study there next year. He knew what he was looking for: a place with an open and family atmosphere, along with formal studies and values of faith and ethics. Gilad was accepted. In the short time that he spent at the yeshiva, he became “one of the guys.” Gilad’s friends told his parents that he was a natural leader. When he was elected to the class’s student council, he tried to incorporate different students who were not in the social center by giving them social assignments. Gilad also was crazy about basketball, learned the rules of the game and loved to shoot hoops. He even wrote letters to professionals who play on his favorite team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, praising them and making comments.    Avi (Avraham Yosef Haim) Siton, 17 Avi lived in Shilo. He was happy, had a pleasant demeanor and a wonderful sense of humor. He appreciated his parents and teachers very much and loved the warm atmosphere of the yeshiva. Avi respected everyone. He always was ready to help others and even succeeded in making contact with youths who had dropped out of the education framework and were wandering the streets. He was a much-loved counselor in the Bnai Akiva youth movement. Avi’s parent came to Israel from Argentina. His family, on both his father’s side and his mother’s side, were among the leaders of Argentina’s Jewish community. His great-grandfather, David, was one of the founders of the Buenos Aires Jewish community. Avi’s father helps with the absorption of Argentinean Jews in Israel, in his capacity of Advisor on Absorption Affairs to the Minister of the Interior. Avi lived in Shilo. He was happy, had a pleasant demeanor and a wonderful sense of humor. He appreciated his parents and teachers very much and loved the warm atmosphere of the yeshiva. Avi respected everyone. He always was ready to help others and even succeeded in making contact with youths who had dropped out of the education framework and were wandering the streets. He was a much-loved counselor in the Bnai Akiva youth movement. Avi’s parent came to Israel from Argentina. His family, on both his father’s side and his mother’s side, were among the leaders of Argentina’s Jewish community. His great-grandfather, David, was one of the founders of the Buenos Aires Jewish community. Avi’s father helps with the absorption of Argentinean Jews in Israel, in his capacity of Advisor on Absorption Affairs to the Minister of the Interior.    Erez-Shlomo Rund, 18 an optimistic, radiant and open youth On June 6, 2002, Erez was traveling from his yeshiva high school in Meiron, in the north of the country, to his home in Ofra. An hour before that, Erez, a twelfth grader, had taken a civics examination. He knew the material well and had a good feeling about his answers. Erez did not make it home. Terrorists, hiding by the roadside, opened fire on the car in which he was traveling. He was critically wounded in the chest and died in the hospital. A few days after the attack, the school reported his grade – a very impressive 92. His parents related that he was a thinking person, who delved into Torah study. He was planning on continuing his studies for an additional year, prior to his induction into the army. He also wanted to continue as a youth counselor in the Bnai Akiva youth movement – an undertaking which he carried out with great success during the last several years. All of his plans and dreams were cut short by an evil hand. His friends cried and mourned for him: “Everyone loved him and appreciated him very much,” they said. “He had dozens of friends from different places. He loved to go on trips and discover new places in the country. After the week of mourning, his parents went to his yeshiva high school. They were invited to the dedication of a new garden next to the school. The large sign at the entrance to the green and blooming garden read: “Erez Garden.”    Hadar Hershkovitz, 14 and a half On June 11, 2002, at 7:45 PM, a suicide bomber entered the Mifgash Hasharon – Jamil Restaurant, in the center of Herzliya. Hidden on his body was an explosive charge with a large quantity of screws and nails, so as to intensify the effect of the attack. He took a few steps and set off the charge. Hadar, a girl who loved life so much, was killed and 18 others were injured. Heavy grief befell the family. Her friends wept bitterly. In school, they set up a memorial corner with photographs of Hadar surrounded by songs and letters they wrote to her. Every evening they gathered to share memories of their beloved friend. Hadar concluded her junior high school studies in the city and was to enter high school. On that day she went with a friend to buy new clothes for the end-of-year party. On the way they stopped at the restaurant. She was talented in art and excelled in dancing. She loved to participate in sports. She always was surrounded by friends and had virtual conversations with other teenagers in Internet chat rooms. Arieh, Hadar’s father, is the manager of the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer team. “All of us are filled with grief for Hadar. It’s as if she was the daughter of each one of us,” said the soccer players.    Shani Avizedek, 16 Shani, a charming girl, sensitive and diligent, was in the tenth grade of Jerusalem’s Boyer high school and a good student. She loved to dance and was a member of the Mehola dance troupe of young dancers. Sometimes she would work after school in a bakery to earn pocket money. Her social conscience was highly motivated, volunteering to help a girl having difficulty with her studies, whose father is handicapped, due to an army injury. “Shani was wonderful, wise and creative,” her friends eulogized her. They recounted that due to her many and varied activities and excellent expressive ability, she was asked to go to Germany, as part of a youth delegation, to tell of life in Israel. Her German hostess, a girl her age, Lisa Joachim, was already waiting for her. Shani had bought Lisa gifts and even had sent her a letter in which she described herself, her family and home. Among the things she wrote was: “…I live in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, but not in a dangerous area….” She concluded with the words: “The rest I will tell you about when we meet.”    Galila Bogal, 11 Galila’s parents, Christian Ethiopians, came to Israel in 1979. They found work in a Jerusalem hotel and joined their church in town. Galila was born in Israel and attended the Paula Ben Gurion school with Israeli children. She integrated well, both academically and socially. She was a pleasant and active girl, organized social activities, participated in scouts and fulfilled her duty in the school’s street crossing patrol, directing students across the street safely. The news of Galila’s murder in the terror attack shocked the entire school. Her friends burst out crying. The teachers and students sent letters of consolation to her parents and her brother, Henok, in which they expressed the love that they felt for her. Galila is “the best and most beautiful angel in Heaven,” wrote her friend, Sapir Ohana. “I will always miss her good heartedness, gentleness, her smiling face and the joy she put in everyone’s heart and soul….” Letters came also from Ethiopia, expressing sorrow. People there prayed in churches for peace in Jerusalem and Israel. An article appeared in an Ethiopian newspaper with wide readership strongly condemning the murder of children in Israel.    Eliyahu Nehmad 16 years and 9 months Eliyahu was seriously injured in a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Beit Yisrael neighborhood, in March. For three and a half months doctors made every possible effort to save his life. His parents, Dalia and Ezra, came to the hospital every day, waiting for a miracle. However, complications developed and he died on June 19, 2002. His death intensified the tragedy of the Nehmad and Ilan families from Rishon Letzion. On Saturday night, March 2, 2002, family members attended a family Bar Mitzvah celebration in Jerusalem. A suicide bomber laid in wait for them and when the parents and their children came out into the street, he approached them and blew himself up. Among those killed was Eliyahu’s brother, Shaul, 15. In the attack, the brothers’ aunt and uncle, Gafnit and Shlomi Nehmad, and their daughters, Liran, 3, Shiraz, 6, and their cousins, Oriah Ilan, 1, and her brother, Lidor, 11, also were killed. Eliyahu studied at the Ohr Gaon Yeshiva in Bnai Brak. “He was a wonderful boy and a student who strived to learn and excel,” his rabbi eulogized him. “He was a boy filled with happiness and had the virtues of ethics and righteousness. He loved playing games on the computer and to sing spiritual songs. He was noble and modest,” his family members eulogized him, grieving painfully.    Gal Aizenman, 5, killed together with her grandmother Pnina Eizenman, from Maale Adumim, stood at the intersection with her daughter, Gal, 5, her son, Sagi, one and a half, and her mother, Noa Alon, from Ofra. Gal and her grandmother, Noa, were killed in the terrible explosion. Pnina and her baby were injured. “I lost two people very close to me,” cried Pnina. Gal was a wonderful and smart girl, who was blessed with a rich verbal ability and captured the hearts of all who saw her grace and energy. She was very attached to her grandmother. Noa was a popular kindergarten teacher who educated hundreds of children. She put a special emphasis on music education. That very afternoon she organized a music party for all the kindergarten children in her community. Later, she went with her family to the French Hill intersection. Issac, Gal’s father, parted from his beloved daughter with poignant words. Then he added: “We will have more children…new life. This is our answer to the murderous terror of our enemies.”    Shmuel-Ephraim Yerushalmy, 17 Shmuel was a student at the Hitzim yeshiva high school in Itamar. About three weeks previous to this he escaped death when a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated into the school yard and opened fire on the students. Shmuel, who hid, survived, but three boys were killed: Gilad Shtigliz, the youngest of the group, and two classmates of Shmuel’s – Netanel Riachi and Avi Siton. Avi was an especially close friend. Next to his grave now is Shmuel’s grave. Shmuel was a bubbly youth, filled with grace and infected everyone with his riotous laughter. Humanity and warmth flowed from him. He created trusting contacts with all who knew him. He loved studying religious subjects and respected scholars, in whom he saw as role models. He also wanted to expand his horizons into other areas. On the morning of the attack, the students had an examination in Land of Israel studies. In reviewing the material prior to the examination, it was Shmuel who went over the material with the class, emphasizing the main points. He was a counselor in the Bnai Akiva youth movement. “When something was missing, he would say to us: ‘Don’t worry, everything will be ok.’ We always knew that there was someone on whom we could depend,” his friends recounted.    Slaughter in a family’s home in Itamar Mother, Rachel Shabo, murdered with three sons Another victim was a neighbor who came to rescue them The full force of cruelty and evil of Palestinian terror reached a new climax with the slaughter of a mother and three of her sons and the injuring of another two. On Friday, June 20, 2002, at 9:00 in the evening, a terrorist infiltrated into the town of Itamar, located in Samaria. He broke into the home of the Shabo family, where at that time, the mother and five of her seven children were present. The terrorist opened fire on everyone he saw, chasing after the terrified children through the rooms. IDF soldiers who were called in killed the terrorist after a gun fight. Rachel and three of her sons, Neria, 16, Tzvika (Tzvi), 12 and a half, and Avishai, 5, were found dead. Next to the entrance was another body, that of Yosef Twito, 30, one of the town’s security personnel, father of five and a teacher. He ran out, at great risk to himself, to help his neighbors. But he was shot by the terrorist and killed. Two other Shabo children were injured: the daughter, Avia, 13, and her brother, Assael, 9, who was critically injured. The doctors had to amputate part of his leg. After the dead were removed from the house, a fire broke out as a result of the gun fire, with much of the house burnt. The father, Boaz, sat outside the house, in shock and wailing. People prevented him from going inside. Boaz, his son, Yariv, 17, and his daughter, Atara, 15, were not there at the time and thus were spared. The family did not even have a house in which to “sit shiva,” – to observe the seven day mourning period, and thus observed it in the house of Rachel’s mother. A large throng participated in the funeral. With throats choked with crying and rage, family members and friends eulogized Rachel, the dedicated mother, energetic and intelligent wife and her small children. It was said that the Shabo family are “people of peace, not people of war…. All that they wanted was to live quietly in their home and to raise their wonderful and sensitive children.” Neria-Avraham, 16 He was a handsome, blonde boy, devoted to his family. He studied at the Hitzim yeshiva high school in Itamar and loved working at the computer. He was serious, but, as with all youngsters his age, loved to play with friends, take trips in the country and to play at sports. Tzvika (Tzvi-Yaacov-Yisrael), 12 and half He studied in the Alon Moreh elementary school and was about to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah. Tzvika wanted to do everything perfectly: He was an excellent student, prepared school work neatly, was a stickler regarding his appearance, watched over his younger brothers and helped his parents around the house. “Many predicted that he would reach great heights,” family members say. Avishai-Yosef, 5 The youngest in the house, he always smiled and was filled with a joy for life. He discovered a talent for operating the computer and knew how to surf the Internet. He went to kindergarten and especially liked to collect small model cars. “Avishai was very fragile. You could just blow on him a little in order to push him over. For what purpose was it to shoot him, why kill children,” screamed his uncle.    Sarah-Tiferet Shilon, 11 months Immediately after that, the terrorists’ bullets struck Gal’s daughter, Sarah-Tiferet, and Grandma Zilpa. They died immediately. The mother, Ayelet, was critically wounded and was operated on in the hospital. Ayelet is distraught with anguish due to her terrible grief and pain from the deaths of her daughter, Sarah-Tiferet – the smiling baby who was very aware of her surroundings, her husband, Gal – a pleasant and sensitive man with wide horizons, and her mother, Zilpa Kashi, of Givatayim, a warm woman and a grandmother who was devoted to her family with all her heart.    Yehonatan Gamliel, 16 “a boy who gave his all to others” Yehonatan Gamliel was murdered as he made his way from the yeshiva to his home in Immanuel. He was a student at the Bnai Shmayia yeshiva in Bnai Brak for the past three years. On that morning he took leave from his teachers, telling them of his plans to go to the yeshiva for older boys, Kol Yehuda. “Yehonatan was a source of joy for the entire family,” said his aunt. He was a boy who cared, who always wanted to help others. He was on a two-day break from school, helping his mother around the house, buying saplings for the garden, helping one of the neighbors and playing with his young brothers. It was difficult for the yeshiva’s principal to eulogize him at the funeral because he was so overcome with grief. One of the rabbis in Immanuel, who knew Yehonatan well, related that he was a young, sensitive, talented boy who was diligent in his Torah studies. Additionally, he liked to read history books, play soccer and work on the computer. He was the second victim of hate in his family. Yehonatan’s uncle, his mother’s brother, Moshe Malka, was killed in 1982, as a soldier in the Peace for Galilee War in Lebanon.    Shuva-El Zion Dicshtein, 9 On Friday, July 26, 2002, the Dickstein family was traveling from their home in the community of Psagot (next to Jerusalem) to spend Shabbat with their friends in Maon. A band of terrorists ambushed and shot at their car from the side of the road. The car stopped. One of the terrorists came closer and shot the passengers in cold blood, killing the father, Yosef, the mother, Hannah, and their son, Shuva-El Zion, 9. Two of their 10 children, Shlomo and Adiel, were injured. “He looked at us straight in the eyes and pulled the trigger,” said one of the girls, who miraculously escaped without injury. Hannah, the mother, was a computer teacher and the father, Yossi, was a rabbi and educator. His father, Shlomo, was a Holocaust survivor who fled from the Maidanik death camp and immigrated to Israel and later died here. The wounded son, Shlomo, is named for his grandfather. “They were good people, filled with faith, idealists, who loved their country,” residents of their town recounted. “They educated their children to be straightforward and modest.” Relatives cried in pain over Shuva-El Zion’s death: “He was very smart and an excellent student, with a good demeanor, loved by all.”    1 2 3 4 5  6 7 8  9 10 11  12 13 14  15