Avlum (Albert) Mills

Albert (Ablum) Miles, 80, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

His body was not discovered until several weeks after the Hamas assault. He was buried on October 30 in Kibbutz Revivim, although his family said they plan to relocate his grave after the war.

His family said that Miles begged the terrorists not to shoot him after they entered his home “and they shot him anyway.” He was found, his daughter said, “with a blanket over his head, and a book of tehillim [psalms] next to him… He died with great suffering.”

He is survived by his daughters, Shani, Sigal and Stav, as well as a number of grandchildren and at least two siblings, Itzi and Leah. He was predeceased by his two sons, Gal, who died in 1996 in an accident when he was 14, and Yaniv, who died last year after a long illness.

His ex-wife, Yona Fricker — the mother of Sigal and Stav — and her partner, Mordechai Naveh, were also murdered on October 7 in Be’eri.

Born in Cairo, Miles moved to Israel when he was 6, following the establishment of the state. At 14 he arrived on the kibbutz with a youth movement and stayed there for most of the rest of his life. He fought as a reservist in both the Yom Kippur War and the First Lebanon War.

He was remembered fondly for wearing bright colors, driving around the kibbutz on his electric scooter which was covered in stickers, and handing out figs and sabras he grew himself.

“He was very active, he was present at every event, he was a very colorful character: He was color-blind and would dress in all sorts of unique colors,” his daughter, Shani Miles Itach told the Kan public broadcaster.

“He was the champion of sabra fruit and figs, he was known for that. He was loved by everyone. There’s always that brother that everyone loves — that was my dad.”

His granddaughter, Dana Itach, wrote on Instagram that he was “a strong man and fought until his last moment. He was a strong grandpa and there was nobody in the kibbutz who didn’t love him.”

Miles’s son-in-law, Andrey Elgort, wrote on Facebook that he was “the best father, grandfather and father-in-law in the world.”

“I had the honor of knowing you and living alongside you. I will never ever forget you, and will always remind your beloved granddaughters how much you were there for them, and how much you loved them,” he added.

“After school, your granddaughters always wanted to go see grandpa because you would always spoil them with something sweet and they had fun playing with you… you were like a father to me, you always supported me.”

Miles, he wrote, “always did what you wanted and not what others said. And now you are together with your two sons. Just 11 months ago we buried your eldest son, Gal Miles, and now we are dealing with the worst trauma of all… We survived the horror so that we could tell everyone what happened.”
Source: The Times of Israel