Yosef El-Ezra

Dec 1, 2001 - Yosef El-Ezra, 18, 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.

Yosef (Yossi) El-Ezra, a gifted student, was in the army's academic track, studying computers at the ORT Technological College on the Hebrew University campus in Givat Ram. He completed his basic army training last summer. His friends described him as "modest, quiet, and warm-hearted." He worked in a sports shop in Jerusalem.

His mother, Yael, said, "My Yossi, you were an angel. Everywhere I was, I was proud of you. I was afraid something would happen to you on the roads, but I didn't think you would die in a terrorist attack."

David, Yossi's cousin, said, "Your friends were killed in the first explosion and you tried to get away, but you were cought in the second explosion. What were you thinking in those moments? On Saturday, when you were sitting with the family, grandma whispered that you look beautiful, like a sultan. Now you are an angel among angels."

Yossi El-Ezra was buried in Jerusalem. He leaves behind his parents and two younger siblings.