A Terror-Stricken Family's Respite - Photography
The Oct. 7th massacre anniversary is soon - neighbors who lost family on that horrific day recently celebrated a nephew's bar-mitzvah; here's my fotog notebook of the event
Our next-door neighbor's youngest son, 13-year-old Avihai Aviani, recently became Bar Mitzvah (capable of fulfilling adult religious roles) at morning services here at our synagogue at Kfar Hananiya (named after the 2nd Cent. Talmudic sage who is buried in a cenotaph on a hillside facing our Galilee village).
In the last few years, my wife and I have become close friends and “back fence and backyard BBQ buddies” with the Avianis: Dad, Sharon; Mom, Ravital; Avihai and his two older brothers, Avinoam, and Itamar, since the family returned from a 14-year sojourn abroad serving Israel as educational emissaries on “shlichut.”
The joy of the event, organized by Ravital and attended by the extended family, was celebrated with verve — as it should be — and yet, was diluted by sharp pangs of sadness and loss: one of his uncles, Shahar, wasn’t at the happy simcha with his two brothers, Sharon and Sahar.
Shahar was security chief at Kfar Aza on Oct. 7th, 2023, and died heroically in an intense firefight with invading Hamas terrorists as he tried to reach their community armory to protect the small village’s residents from the unexpected dawn onslaught.
Sahar — seen hugging Avihai here — sat across from me at the festive Shabbat luncheon, held in our village’s optimistically dubbed “Event Room” (ok - it’s a double-wide portable). While a long-term resident of Boca Raton, FL, Sahar flew over for the event, as he did 11 months ago in the wake of the horror and the official announcement of Shahar’s death a few days later.
Here’s the video of the event. May Shahar's soul, as we say, "merit an aliyah" (ascend even higher in Heaven) from this heartwarming occasion:
“Shachar Aviani, 56, the head of the Kibbutz Kfar Aza local security team, was killed battling the Hamas invasion of the kibbutz on October 7.
“With the start of the attack, Shachar headed to the kibbutz’s weapons locker, and called up the rest of the local security team with the warning: ‘This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill, there are terrorists in the kibbutz.’
“But the area surrounding the weapons arsenal was already beset by terrorists, and he and other members of the small security team fought back against dozens of them, with seven of them ultimately killed that day: Tal Eilon, Aviv Baram, Uri Russo, Ofir Libstein, Nadav Amikam and Avi Hindi.
“Shachar was posthumously recognized as a fallen soldier with the rank of sergeant major in the reserves.
“He was buried in Kibbutz Shefayim on October 19. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, their four children, Li-hi, 29, Yonatan, 26, Shaili, 20, and Gili, 17, his parents, Sarah and Asher, and his siblings Sharon and Sahar.” (via Times of Israel)
Baruch Dayan Haemet. May he Rest in Peace, and his family know no more sorrow.
Shot notes:
Shot solo on a Samsung #s24ultra in #expertraw Mode, in a #Beastgrip rig with two #lumecube fill lights and a Benro monopod for stability, high-angle, and video shots.
Stills edited in #LightroomMobile, #Lightroom; video shot in 4k 60 FPS, and edited and assembled in #KineMasterPro
Follow me on my Substack and FB page for more unique Israel-based #smartphonephotography #mobilephotography and #videography galleries and more: https://substack.com/@davebender
Davidbrianbender.com: Compelling Photography
#bw #bnw #blackandwhitephoto #blackandwhiteonly #bnw_planet #blackandwhite #monochrome #monochrome_photography #bnw_portrait #bnwfamily #familyphotos #familypictures #samsungphotography #withgalaxy #ig_israel #bw_society #instaisrael #israel_photographers #jewishphotos #israelpix #jewishevents #jewishlife #judaism
Beautiful. They should know no more sorrow.