Pinhas Tokatli

Jan 27, 2002 - Pinhas Emanuel Tokatli, 81, of Jerusalem was killed and over 150 people were wounded in a suicide bombing on Jaffa Road, in the center of Jerusalem, shortly before 12:30.

Pinhas Tokatli was returning home from a painting class via the downtown area, where he was going to buy some paints, when he was killed. According to police, Pinhas stood very close to the female suicide bomber when she blew herself up. He died only a short distance from the spot on Jaffa Road where, in the 1940s, British soldiers beat him up, damaging his vision.

Tokatli, the youngest in a family of nine children, was a fifth generation Jerusalemite. He served in the Haganah and later worked in advertising. After retiring, he became interested in cycling and was one of the founders of the Jerusalem cycling club. He also served as a guide in the Western Wall tunnels and other sites in Jerusalem.

Pinhas' son Gilad described his father as a gentle man, who refused to grow old. "My father hated the bus and used to walk or ride his bike," he said. The bicycle was left outside the family's home in the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood, which is filled with dozens of Tokatli's paintings, many of his beloved Jerusalem. Tokatli was an amateur painter, and was supposed to display his paintings in an exhibition. Family members said Tokatli's grandchildren liked to paint with him.

Pinhas Tokatli was buried in Jerusalem. He is survived by a sister, his wife Hannah, two sons, two daughters, and 13 grandchildren.