Ya'acov (Kobi) Mandell
May 9, 2001 - Ya'acov (Kobi) Mandell, 14, of Tekoa, was stoned to death while hiking with his friend near his home, south of Jerusalem.
Kobi Mandell was found together with his friend Yossi Ish-Ran, stoned to death in a cave about 200 meters from the outermost residence of Tekoa, a community south of Jerusalem where both lived. The boys' families only discovered they were missing close to midnight, after they had skipped school to hike in the dry riverbed of Nahal Hariton.
Together with his parents, Seth and Sheri Mandell, Kobi immigrated to Israel seven years ago from Maryland in the US and moved from Efrat to Tekoa in 1998. His father was a rabbi in Pennsylvania and now handles an outreach program for foreign yeshiva students. His mother is an English teacher. Kobi, a computer freak, had three siblings: 11-year-old Daniel, Elinor who is nine and Gabi aged six.
"I saw Kobi on Saturday kidding around with his brothes and sister, I can't comprehend that he is no longer here", said a friend.
Kobi was laid to rest in the cemetery of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion.