Golan Turgeman

Dec 1, 2001 - Golan Turgeman, 15, of Jerusalem, was one of 11 young people killed on Saturday night at the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem.

At about 11:30 P.M., two suicide bombers detonated explosive devices on Ben Yehuda Street, the pedestrian mall frequented by many young people on Saturday night. A car bomb exploded nearby 20 minutes later. In addition to the 11 people killed, about 180 were injured in the terrorist attack.

After bowling in Talpiot, Golan Turgeman and his friend Assaf Avitan met with friends on the Ben Yehuda mall to celebrate the 16th birthday of twins from the neighborhood. They were standing and talking when the bomb exploded. Golan and Assaf were killed; 10 of their friends were injured.

Golan and Assaf and grown up together in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood, and were the "neighborhood clowns". Golan was a 10th grade student at the Kiryat Hinuch high school in Pisgat Ze'ev, where just a week before he was elected to the student council. His teacher, Orly Michaeli, said, "He was a happy boy, friendly, caring." His father, Ephraim, said, "He was a good boy, devoted and disciplined, who always helped his mother."

Golan Turgeman was buried in the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. The youngest in the family, he is survived by his parents, three brothers, and two sisters.