Born in Haifa on April 5, 1938, he was a member of the founding group of Nir Oz. Zalman was a man of the land and labor, who dedicated his life to the soil of the Negev. He considered Nir Oz and the cultivation of field crops and irrigated agriculture his life’s mission, to which he devoted himself completely.
Zalman was the father of two sons and the grandfather of five grandchildren, a well-read man with a broad knowledge of Israel’s history and land. He was a modest man with a keen sense of humor who wanted nothing for himself, only to strengthen the community and its members through deeds rather than lofty words. Even after retiring from regular work, he continued to come to the garage and the field crops office every day, eager to share the knowledge he had accumulated and to tell stories to anyone willing to listen, as well as to those who were not.
So it was in his final days as well, when he was far from his family but in the company of people from Nir Oz who had been abducted.
Zalman was a foundational part of Nir Oz’s spirit and identity. His friends and family remember him as a devoted man who loved people and the land. His story is an integral part of Israel’s and the kibbutz’s legacy.
Zalman was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and was murdered there in November 2023 after enduring physical and psychological suffering. He was returned to Israel for burial on October 21, 2025.
He was 85 years old at the time of his death.
May Zalman’s memory be a blessing.
