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The full stories, as well as other stories,
appear in the book
Click the pictures on the map to view the stories
Moshe and Eliad Ohayon z”l
“I saw him put on his tzitzit, wear his white shirt, button it up.
They gathered all of the ammunition in the house, tourniquets in
their pockets, took whatever gear they can find, and headed out.”
– Sarit, Moshe’s wife and Eliad’s mother
“I saw him put on his tzitzit, wear his white shirt, button it up. They gathered all of the ammunition in the house, tourniquets in their pockets, took whatever gear they can find, and headed out.”
– Sarit, Moshe’s wife and Eliad’s mother
Elhanan Team
“After you go through a few houses there, or after you get
to a safe room just a few seconds late and see what was left
behind there, you realize you’re in a race against time.”
– Menahem Kalmanson
“After you go through a few houses there, or after you get to a safe room just a few seconds late and see what was left behind there, you realize you’re in a race against time.”
– Menahem Kalmanson
Yigal Zinger
“I thought, what will I tell myself if I don’t go in?
How will I lie with myself later?
I can run away right now, I can hide, but I won’t be able to
live with the fact that I heard people
being murdered and didn’t go in to try and help them.”
– Yigal Zinger, Police Investigator
“I thought, what will I tell myself if I don’t go in? How will I lie with myself later? I can run away right now, I can hide, but I won’t be able to live with the fact that I heard people being murdered and didn’t go in to try and help them.”
– Yigal Zinger, Police Investigator
Tali Hadad
“I see wounded and bodies lying there, waiting for treatment –
and no one’s coming. So I turn to one of the guys standing
near me and tell him, ‘listen, I live nearby. I’m going to get my car.”
“I see wounded and bodies lying there, waiting for treatment – and no one’s coming. So I turn to one of the guys standing near me and tell him, ‘listen, I live nearby. I’m going to get my car.”
Ben Shimoni z”l
“During the rescue mission, he found out his friends
stayed behind and started stuttering on the phone.
He didn’t know how to tell me that he’s going back into Re’im.
He told me, ‘I’ll come back, but not right now.
Tom’s still in there. I’m going back to get Tom.”
– Jessica Alter, Ben’s Partner
“During the rescue mission, he found out his friends stayed behind and started stuttering on the phone. He didn’t know how to tell me that he’s going back into Re’im. He told me, ‘I’ll come back, but not right now. Tom’s still in there. I’m going back to get Tom.”
– Jessica Alter, Ben’s Partner
Yossi Taher z”l
“Had Yossi chosen not to go to battle and members
of Kibbutz Miflasim were killed and taken hostage,
he would never forgive himself.”
– Erez, Yossi’s father
“Had Yossi chosen not to go to battle and members of Kibbutz Miflasim were killed and taken hostage, he would never forgive himself.”
– Erez, Yossi’s father
Google Earth™ mapping service and this website is not endorsed by or affiliated with Google in any way
The full stories, as well as other stories, appear in the book
The Heroes No One Expected
“It was terrifying. We’re not Rambos, we’re just ordinary people doing what needs to be done. None of us are eager for battle. We have families at home – wives, children. We don’t want to die. We thought about stopping, but we looked at each other, and went back in.”
Without orders, without uniforms, and many times without weapons – this is the story of ordinary people on the darkest day in Israel’s history: from the electrician who rushed to save neighbors in the nearby town, to the club owner who rescued festival-goers at Nova through hidden dirt paths, and the bakery worker who went down with the ambulance to Sderot and insisted on saving lives even in the heart of the chaos. Joining them are other citizens – those who didn’t have to be there, but couldn’t stand idly by.
The Heroes No One Expected
“It was terrifying. We’re not Rambos, we’re just ordinary people doing what needs to be done. None of us are eager for battle. We have families at home – wives, children. We don’t want to die. We thought about stopping, but we looked at each other, and went back in.”
Without orders, without uniforms, and many times without weapons – this is the story of ordinary people on the darkest day in Israel’s history: from the electrician who rushed to save neighbors in the nearby town, to the club owner who rescued festival-goers at Nova through hidden dirt paths, and the bakery worker who went down with the ambulance to Sderot and insisted on saving lives even in the heart of the chaos. Joining them are other citizens – those who didn’t have to be there, but couldn’t stand idly by.
