Sgt Tamar Ben-Eliahu

June 11, 2003 - Sgt. Tamar Ben-Eliahu, 20, of Moshav Paran 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.

Tamar Ben-Eliahu grew up with her three brothers and sisters in Moshav Paran in the Arava, in southern Israel. She was a counselor in the youth movement of the Moshav movement and completed a year of community service under the auspices of the movement after high school. She was then recruited into the IDF and served in Jerusalem as an education NCO. As such, she served as a guide to groups of soldiers visiting the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem. Mortally wounded in the attack, she died in hospital.

Dafna Harari, of Paran, described Tamar as a beautiful girl and a real friend. She was very active in the Shitim regional high school and helped arrange various ceremonies. On the long bus ride from Paran to Jerusalem, Tamar would often fall asleep. When she awoke, she would find love notes from passengers who said that she looked like an angel.

Sgt. Tamar Ben-Eliahu was buried in Moshav Poran. She is survived by her parents, Omri and Edna, her older brother and sister, Ziv and Hadas, and younger brother Lior.