Yechezkel Isser Goldberg

Jan 29, 2004 - Yechezkel Isser Goldberg, 41, of Betar Illit was one of 11 people killed in a suicide bombing on a no. 19 Egged bus at the corner of Gaza and Arlozorov streets in Jerusalem.

Bus no. 19 starts its route at Hadassah Ein Kerem and makes its way through the center of Jerusalem to Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus. The bomber was in the back of the bus when he detonated the explosives as the bus drove up Gaza Street. The blast tore apart the bus, turning it into a twisted wreck. The back half of the roof was blown into the air and every window was blown out. In addition, over 50 people were wounded, 13 of them seriously. Both the Fatah-related Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yechezkel Goldberg, who immigrated to Israel from Toronto, Canada eight years ago, was taking the number 19 bus to his job as a social worker in downtown Jerusalem when he was killed. He worked primarily with troubled youth, both in Jerusalem and in his hometown of Betar Illit.

Goldberg also wrote for many years for the Jewish Press, an English-language Orthodox weekly, primarily on educational matters and on the experiences of a religious, English-speaking immigrant in Israel.

Yechezkel Isser Goldberg was buried in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot cemetery. He is survived by his wife Shifra and their seven children, aged one to 16.