Michael Sharshevsky

Nov 21, 2002 - Michael Sharshevsky, 16, of Jerusalem, was one of 11 people killed in a suicide bombing on a No. 20 Egged bus in the Kiryat Menahem neighborhood of Jerusalem.

The bomber, wearing a five-kilogram bomb belt packed with explosives and shrapnel, boarded the bus at approximately 7:00 A.M. on Mexico street in Kiryat Menahem. Before it reached the next stop, the terrorist, who was standing in the front section of the bus, set off the bomb, killing 11 people and wounding about 50.

Like every morning, Ella Sharshevky and her son Michael had boarded the No. 20 bus, she on her way to work in a factory and he on his way to school. Both were killed.

The Sharshevskys immigrated to Israel from Russia three years ago. They attended an ulpan on a kibbutz in northern Israel and had just recently moved to Jerusalem.

Michael was an 11th grade student at the Shuvu Jerusalem High School in the Beit Hakerem neighborhood. "He would arrive every morning even before the school guard did," said assistant principal Moshe Kav. "He had a key to the school's security gate so he could let himself in. When we got to the school on Thursday morning and saw that the gate was still locked, we knew something must have happened to Michael."

Michael was a quiet boy with a lot of friends, a serious student who was always smiling. Classmates noted that he always had time for them whenever they needed his help. "I would sometimes call him at home if I was having trouble with a math assignment," said fellow student Eli Wainer. "He would stay on the phone for two hours if that's how long it took for me to understand."

Ella and Michael Sharshevsky were buried side by side in the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. Michael is survived by his father, Vladimir, and sister, Zhenya.