Bertin Tita

June 11, 2003 - Bertin Tita, 75, of Jerusalem was one of 17 people killed in a suicide bombing on bus No. 14A on Jaffa Road in the center of Jerusalem.

At around 17:30, the bomber, dressed as an ultra-Orthodox Jew, boarded Egged bus No. 14A at the Mahane Yehuda market, and a short while later, as the bus drove down Jaffa Road near the Davidka Square, detonated his bomb, wrecking the bus and killing 16 of its passengers. Over 100 people were wounded, including dozens of passersby. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bertin Tita, born in Baghdad, Iraq, immigrated to Israel in 1951 and married her husband, Ephraim. They lived in the United States for 15 years and returned to Israel in the 1990s. After retiring from the fashion business, she devoted her time to helping those in need. She was killed while on her way to help a needy family.

Bertin's daughter Shoshana is a journalist living in the United States. She was married in Israel on Monday - just two days before the suicide attack. "Instead of seven days of celebrating," she said, "I will now have seven days of mourning."

Bertin Tita was buried in Jerusalem. She is survived by her husband, three children, eight grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.