Dov Chernobroda
Mar 31, 2002 - Dov Chernobroda, 67, of Haifa was one of 15 people killed in a suicide bombing in Haifa, in the Matza restaurant of the gas station near the Grand Canyon shopping mall.
Just after 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon, during the Passover holiday, the terrorist entered the popular Matza restaurant in the Neve Sha'anan district near the Grand Canyon mall. The explosion tore the roof off the one-story building, and blew out the windows, instantly killing 14 people, and leaving horrific scenes of people on fire, and people with lost limbs. Over 40 people were injured.
Architect Dov Chernobroda frequently enjoyed eating with his family and friends at the Matza restaurant, where he was killed.
Dov was born in Tel-Aviv and moved to Kibbutz Misgav Am in the the Upper Galilee in the early '50s. There he met his late wife Ilana. She was very active in the Labor Party, working with the late Yitzhak Rabin, and towards the end of her life served as advisor on the status of women to Amram Mitzna, Haifa's mayor.
In the early '70s, the family moved to Haifa. Dov was one of the first Jewish architects who combined his socialist and Zionist vision of co-existence and peace with the Arab population and worked avidly during his 30 year career in Arab villages and towns, such as Um el-Fahm, Kfar Kara, Zalafe, etc. As an architect and town planner, he left his mark there in many public and residential buildings.
Dov was very active in left-wing politics and was a member of the Mapam and Meretz parties. Before the Oslo Accords, he initiated the first meetings between his friend, Faisal el-Husseini and well-known Israeli personalities. Dov never gave up his optimistic vision and belief in the peace process, as all who knew him will sadly attest.
In the last four years of his life, Dov had been living happily with his life-long companion Yael Armanet. Dov Chernobroda was buried in Haifa. He is survived by Yael, his three children - Yoav, Adi and Shaul - and six grandchildren - Ido, Maya, Gal, Karin, Ella and Alon.