Yoram was born on August 8, 1943, in Petah Tikva. In 1965, he married Tami in Kibbutz Amiad.
In 1961, he enlisted in the Nahal Paratroopers Brigade and fought in the Battle of Ammunition Hill and the battle for Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. In the Yom Kippur War, he crossed the canal and fought in the city of Suez.
In 1970, Yoram joined the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), where he distinguished himself as an outstanding interrogator known as “Abu Zaki” — “the clever one.” He was completely fluent in Arabic and worked in Hebron and later in the Gaza Strip. He served in the Shin Bet for 12 years and continued in reserve duty until 1994. For Yoram, effective interrogation was like a game of chess — relying on cleverness rather than force.
In 1974, Yoram moved with his family to Nir Oz, where he would spend the rest of his life. Over the years, he held key positions at Nirlat and in the kibbutz, serving as community manager and head of catering.
Yoram was an enthusiastic cook, an avid crossword solver, a trivia and general-knowledge enthusiast and a people person. He was among the founders of the kibbutz winery, along with friends. He was a wellspring of stories, sayings and jokes.
On October 7, 2023, Tami and Yoram were brutally abducted and held hostage in Gaza.
Even in the tunnels of Khan Younis, Yoram remained true to himself — conversing in Arabic with his captors, negotiating “benefits” for the hostages, keeping morale up and telling jokes. Tami was released after 53 days and nights. Yoram was murdered in cold blood by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel in Khan Younis and was laid to rest in Nir Oz in 2024.
Yoram is survived by three children and six grandchildren, whom he loved with all his heart.
He was 80 years old at the time of his death.
May Yoram’s memory be a blessing.
