Tami Suchman

Tami Suchman, 76, was murdered on October 7 by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be’eri.

On the morning of October 7, Suchman went into her safe room and started calling family members. Her son Ben told her to hold the door handle closed so that no one could get in. She held the door handle with all of her might but eventually had to sit down to rest. When the Hamas terrorists finally entered the safe room, Ben was on the phone and heard the gunmen take his mother away. Initially, the family thought she was kidnapped and held out hope. She was found dead 10 days later.

Suchman was born on Kibbutz Kedma in 1947, the eldest child of Abba and Leah Barmak. Her parents were among the founders of Kedma, which was part of the 11 points in the Negev campaign in 1946.

A eulogy written on the Kibbutz Be’eri website stated that after her mother died when she was five years old, Tami raised her brother Udi “like a mother.” Their father later remarried and had three more children, and after Kibbutz Kedma was abandoned in 1962, the blended family moved to Be’eri.

When she was 20 years old, Tami married Tzvi Suchman in a joint wedding with another couple at Kibbutz Be’eri. The Suchmans would eventually have four children, including Ben, today the head of the famed Be’eri printing house.

The kibbutz wrote that Suchman was known for her keen fashion sense, and for always being able to spot the next hot thing. Her neighbors on Be’eri were used to seeing Suchman return from Tel Aviv with new jewelry and clothes and in no time, whatever she was wearing would catch on across the kibbutz.

Her fashion sense was in keeping with her artistic spirit. She studied at the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan in her younger days before returning to the kibbutz to teach all types of crafts from sewing to carpentry. She also made her own gold and silver jewelry and studied alternative medicine. She provided shiatsu, acupuncture and Tui na treatments with great care and kindness.

The kibbutz wrote that in 1986 Suchman was appointed manager of the Be’eri sewing workshop and through her hard work and boundless energy, turned it into a full-fledged factory. She ran the factory for almost 30 years, including after she retired and became a pensioner.

Suchman had 12 grandchildren. Her house — full of artwork and flowers — was always the spot for family meetups. During the pandemic, she turned the house into a cafe of sorts for locals thirsty for a place to unwind.

The kibbutz wrote that she was also close to a Gazan man named Khaled who used to work as a builder on Be’eri before the First intifada, and raised money from her neighbors to send to Khaled and his family after his work permit was rescinded.

Her daughter, Ela Beirav wrote on Facebook of the helplessness of her mother on October 7 and her regret at not being able to help her.

“Mom, today we were supposed to celebrate your birthday, but instead we are eulogizing you, again. It has already been more than 100 days since the inhuman Hamas-ISIS took you from your house and murdered you, more than 100 days since the state and the government and the person who leads it abandoned you,” she wrote.

She added: “Mom, I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you or at least find a hero that could.”
Source: The Times of Israel