Hannah Ben Artzi

Hannah Ben Artzy, 68, from the town of Kfar Aviv near Ashdod, was killed by a rocket fired from Gaza on October 7.

Ben Artzy, who was part of the town’s security team, left her home during the siren in order to unlock a public bomb shelter, and was killed just outside it. Her children, who lived nearby, watched it happen in front of them.

Her daughter Efrat told Ynet that “my mother ran to open the shelter because she was a member of the town council, and was killed by shrapnel… My brother tried to revive her but it didn’t help, she was no longer alive. She was a wonderful and quality woman who was a volunteer and a fighter, as well as a literature and language teacher.”

She is survived by her partner, Gideon Aviram, who was abroad at the time, three children Noam, Efrat and Omri, six grandchildren and a brother, Dror. She was buried on October 9 in the Gderot cemetery.

A longtime educator, Ben Artzy loved to garden, and in her memory, her family and friends distributed seeds for mourners to plant and bring new growth into the world. Her grave plot also includes a small garden.

Her friend Arie Rozenberg shared a photo online of a trip they took to India together a decade ago, recalling their journey and remembering Ben Artzy fondly as “a woman of culture in every limb of her body and every ounce of her being, a woman of books and literature and a beloved teacher to all her students.”

Her daughter, Efrat Ben Artzy, posted on Facebook two months after her death: “The rain is sprouting your grave garden, we’re waiting for sparks of hope to grow among us again. The days are hard, your absence is very felt.”

On what would have been her 69th birthday on December 30, Efrat wrote, “We were supposed to celebrate today, but instead the universe had other plans for you. Sadly, the days are still hard, hope has a very, very faint ring.”

Her granddaughter, Elisha Golan, wrote on Instagram that Ben Artzy “was a literature teacher and truly was the best grandmother that I could ever imagine. She always said that because she didn’t get to meet her grandmother, she wanted to be the best grandmother there was.”

“Because I’m the oldest grandchild I got to spend almost half my time with her, and almost every day I came over to have a deep conversation because we’re neighbors,” Golan added. “She was really my best friend. Today when I think about her the first thing that comes to mind is gardening and plants, she had an incredible garden, ever since I was a little I would spend time with her in the garden and take care of it with her — I inherited a hobby thanks to her.”
Source: The Times of Israel