Here Lived
In this house lived the Itzik family. Arie, 72 years old, first came to the kibbutz with the “Garin Nahal”, a group of pioneer youth, and was a kibbutz member for fifty years. His wife, Dvorah z”l, passed away from a serious illness in 2012. Arie has three children, Chen, Roni, and Tahel, and eight grandchildren.
Arie was a nurse, and he managed the kibbutz clinic for thirty years. In addition, Arie was an ambulance driver for Magen David Adom for forty-five years and the on-call kibbutz ambulance driver.
Arie fought in the Yom Kippur War in the 7th Brigade. On October 8, he had planned to attend a ceremony on the Golan Heights, commemorating fifty years since the Yom Kippur War. On Friday night, Arie joined his son and daughter-in-law, Chen and Michal, and their children, for the Shabbat dinner at their house on the kibbutz. At the end of the meal, with what in hindsight was a chilling prediction, Arie joked with the family that he was going to sleep in the safe room that night, saying, “As far as I’m concerned, the war may very well start tomorrow.”
October 7th
On October 7, Arie acted as he did whenever sirens were sounded or a message was received of a security incident. He quickly wore his Magen David Adom uniform and headed to his ambulance. On the way, Arie received a phone call from Judy Weinstein Haggai z”l, who was out on her morning walk in the fields with her husband, Gadi Haggai z”l. Judy was calling for help after Gadi had been shot by terrorists. She was also wounded and feared that Gadi was no longer alive. Gadi and Judy were kidnapped, their bodies held in captivity for 608 days, until they were returned for burial on June 6, 2025. Arie called Shachar, the military security coordinator, who instructed him to return home immediately, which he did. He deliberately left his front door and the door to the safe room wide open. He then covered himself with a blanket, sat in the corner of the safe room, and tried to breathe as quietly as possible, hoping the terrorists would assume there was no one in the house. After informing his family that he was doing so, Arie turned off his cellphone to ensure that it wouldn’t ring or light up, thus revealing his presence. Meanwhile, Palestinians spent hours in his home, eating from his refrigerator and looting whatever they could lay their hands on. All the while, Arie remained in his safe room until the army arrived. He was among the first to be rescued.
During those long hours, Arie managed to leave the house several times and help neighbors who had been injured, but afterward was unable to recall any details relating to how he had gotten there. Arie had even managed to take a few photos, which later served as testimony to what had taken place in his neighborhood.
After treating the wounded and helping an elderly friend and neighbor escape through the window of their safe room, Arie assisted in identifying, recovering, and evacuating bodies of his murdered friends.
What Happened Since
Arie is presently living in Karme Gat. He plans to move to Kibbutz Beit Nir to live alongside his son and daughter-in-law, Chen and Michal, and his grandchildren.
