Benaya Yehonatan Zuckerman
Feb 22, 2004 - Benaya Yehonatan Zuckerman, 18, of Jerusalem was one of eight persons murdered and more than 60 wounded by a Palestinian suicide bomber on a No. 14A Egged bus opposite the capital's Liberty Bell Park.
The attack took place at about 8:30 a.m. as the crowded, rush-hour bus was making its way downtown. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by Muhammad Za'ul, from the Bethlehem area. He had boarded the bus undetected and was overlooked by two security inspectors who boarded after him and alighted before he detonated the explosives he was carrying in a backback.
Benaya Zuckerman was a high school senior at the Experimental School. A student of the cinema and a promising athlete, he had been looking forward to graduation and serving in the IDF, where he intended trying out for the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit - where both his parents had served.
"He was a special kind of boy, beloved, talented, and full of charm," said Ori Geva, the principal of his school.
"He was a great jokester, with a warm smile, and would do anything for you," a friend related. "He enjoyed life and you could always count on him."
Benaya Zuckerman was buried in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot Cemetery. He is survived by his parents, Ayelet and Moshe, two brothers, and two sisters.