Forest Rain

Giora. Tzvika. Shoshana. Frida. Lali. Tamar. Tehila. Mordechai. Tzira. Raaya. Avraham Yitzhak. Hemda. Malki. Michal. Yocheved. Chana. This is the attack Hamas claimed responsibility for. So when someone tells you Hamas represents some romantic struggle of benevolent "freedom fighters," remember what its "resistance" looked like on August 9, 2001. A crowded pizza restaurant. A pregnant teacher. A doctor and her eight-year-old daughter. Two best friends on their way to volunteer. A family day out that ended with five coffins. A four-year-old proud that he had learned the alphabet. A two-year-old whose memorial remembers her smile. And a woman whose wounds took almost 22 years to finally kill her. Don't let anyone turn them back into a statistic. Remember their names. May their memories be a blessing.

Chana Tova Chaya Nachenberg Feiner was 31 when the bomb exploded. She was at Sbarro with her young daughter Sarah. Sarah survived physically unharmed. Chana suffered catastrophic injuries and never regained consciousness. For nearly 22 years, her family lived with the consequences of August 9, 2001 every single day. Chana died from her injuries on May 31, 2023. She was 52. Her death made her the 16th victim of the Sbarro bombing.

Yocheved Shoshan was 10. Her family remembered a cheerful, gentle little girl who cared deeply about other people. When children around her fought, Yocheved tried to make peace between them. She was at Sbarro with her mother and sisters. Her sister Miriam was terribly wounded. Yocheved was killed. She was ten years old.

Michal Sarah Raziel was 16. She was bright, opinionated, funny and remembered for a smile people couldn't forget. She volunteered with children with disabilities and became a youth counselor. She talked about her future. About getting married. About having children and building a family of her own. She walked into Sbarro with her best friend Malki. They were murdered together.

Malka Chana "Malki" Roth was 15. Malki's younger sister had severe disabilities, and caring for her shaped the person Malki became. She volunteered with children with disabilities. She encouraged her friends to do the same. She played the flute. That afternoon she was with her best friend, Michal Raziel. They were on their way to volunteer. They stopped for pizza. Malki's father, @arnoldroth, has spent the years since fighting relentlessly to keep his daughter's memory alive and to bring those responsible for her murder to justice. Remember Malki.

Hemda Bracha Schijveschuurder was 2. There isn't a résumé to write for a two-year-old. No university. No career. No wedding plans. Her memorial describes a charming little girl whose smile never left her face. She was murdered alongside her mother, father, brother and sister. She was two.

Avraham Yitzhak Schijveschuurder was 4. His family remembered a sweet, loving little boy who showered affection on everyone around him. He had just learned the Hebrew alphabet. He was incredibly proud of himself for knowing it. Four years old.