Eden Yerushalmi is laid to rest
Thousands arrived at Yarkon Cemetery to accompany Tel Aviv resident Eden Yerushalmi on her final journey. She was kidnapped on October 7 and murdered along with five other hostages in a tunnel in Rafah.Eden’s mother, Shirit, cried: “My dear Eden! For 11 months, you endured captivity under Hamas. On the evening of the rumors, we received the news. So many people wanted to meet you, but not like this. I will miss our time together on the balcony. You were not just my daughter; you were my best friend. I waited 330 days for you to return, and I would wait another 330 days for you to come back alive. Yesterday was my birthday, and I wished that I would meet you and that you would return, but not like this.”Shani, Eden’s younger sister, continued: “I felt you every day and felt you alive. I never imagined we would meet like this; I was looking forward to hugging you and laughing with you.”
Her aunt, Carmit, said: “You were a girl full of joy. For 11 months, we fought, and I’m sorry we couldn’t bring you back. Thank you for 23 years of being with us. I will make sure everyone knows who you were. There isn’t, and there will never be a replacement for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sure you are now the most beautiful angel in heaven.”
Eden Yerushalmi
Yerushalmi was working as a bartender at the Nova music festival and was taken hostage from there on October 7.The Hostage Forum described Yerushalmi, who was originally from Tel Aviv, as a “vibrant young woman with many friends and hobbies.”“Eden loved spending summer days at the beach playing paddleball, attending parties, and was studying to become a Pilates instructor.”Yerushalmi’s body was recovered by the IDF along with five others who were murdered by Hamas soon before the IDF reached them, the army said Sunday.Yerushalmi had called her mother from the festival, where she was able to stay on the phone with her sister for three hours before her phone turned off. She had hid in a car alongside the bodies of her friends who had been killed, her sister told reporters. She later fled into a forested area where she was abducted.
Yerushalmi's sister
Yerushalmi’s sister Shani had previously spoken out on her behalf – telling the Jewish News Syndicate in January that she had previously hoped her sister was shot so her death would be “quick.”“I never thought they’d kidnap her,” Shani said.“She could hear the sound of blood dripping on the floor as she played dead,” Shani said of her sister’s experience in hiding from the terrorists. “I told her not to listen and instead concentrate on the sound of my voice.”As Hamas attacked, Yerushalmi called the police, where she described the massacre and asked the police, “Find me, okay?” according to the forum.Yerushalmi’s last words to her family were, “Shani, they’ve caught me.”The rabbi gave a heartfelt eulogy: “Dear Eden, we ask for your forgiveness if we didn’t do enough for you. May all terrorism cease, and may the people of Israel reach redemption. Eden, you have a very high place in heaven; you gave your life for the people of Israel and were murdered simply because you are Jewish. If you ask what Eden wants – it’s unity! Dear Eden, you united the people of Israel. In her death, she leaves us a legacy of unity.”