Shani Avi-Zedek

Jun 18, 2002 - Shani Avi-Zedek, 15, of Jerusalem, was one of 19 people killed in a suicide bombing at the Patt junction in Egged bus no. 32A traveling from Gilo to the center of Jerusalem.

The terrorist boarded the bus at 7:50 A.M. at the stop in Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood opposite Gilo, and almost immediately detonated the large bomb which he carried in a bag stuffed with ball bearings. The blast destroyed the front half of the bus, packed with people on their way to work and schoolchildren. Of the 19 victims, 17 were residents of the Gilo neighborhood; 74 people were injured.

Shani Avi-Zedek, a 10th grade student at Boyer High School, was to have flown next Sunday to Berlin as part of a youth delegation to meet with German youth; she was chosen because she was an excellent student. Yesterday, she was on for a fun day in the pool when she was killed.

Shani, who would have been 16 next month, was the second of four children. She danced for years in the Mehola dance troupe and as part of her personal volunteer program, mentored the child of a disabled veteran.

Shani Avi-Zedek was buried in Jerusalem. She is survived by her parents, Eli and Bella, and three brothers: Liron (19), Nadav (12) and Or (7).