Itzik Kozin, 72, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. He is survived by his only daughter, Ela Shani, 14. He was buried in Rehovot on October 12.
Ela told ABC news in an interview that she was told by authorities her father was shot and then set on fire. “I’m holding on to the hope with all my heart that he died from being shot..
. His house wasn’t burned, I know that he was taken out of his house after he was shot because I’ve seen the blood..
. I just want to hope that he was dragged out when he was no longer alive. I just want to hope it was quick.
” She told the news anchor that her father “was a good man, and I think everyone knew it...
I’m really proud of who he was, being his daughter, and I loved him.” According to a kibbutz eulogy , Itizk was born in Israel a few years after his parents, both Holocaust survivors, arrived in the Jewish state with his older sister, Pnina. His parents did not speak much about their wartime experiences, but his father lost his entire family in the Holocaust, including his first wife and his son.
When he was 8, Itzik’s mother died of cancer. At age 16, he arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri with a wave of youth pioneers. For several decades, he worked in farming, before at age 40 moving to work in the famed Be’eri printing press, where he stayed until retirement.
His sister, Pnina, died in 1997. His niece, Ganit Marinberg, shared on Facebook a eulogy written by her father, Rafi, Itzik’s.
