Here Lived
This was the home of Tami and Yoram Metzger. They came to the kibbutz in 1974 with their two eldest children, Guy and Ran. Two years later, their third son, Nir, was born. After a short period working in the fields and as a handyman, Yoram worked for many years at the Nir Lat factory and also served as the VP of Marketing. Tami worked for many years in the children’s house as a caregiver, and as the laundromat and kibbutz grocery store manager. In 1998, they moved to the Netherlands following Yoram’s work for Nir Lat. After two years, they returned to the kibbutz. Later, Yoram worked as the community manager, serving for two terms. Between those terms, he also worked as a purchasing manager and managed the food sector, focusing primarily during this period on the privatization of the food branch. In 2015, Tami and Yoram decided to leave the kibbutz and embarked on a five-year adventure in the big city. In 2020, they returned to live on the kibbutz as residents. They lived in this house ever since.
October 7th
On October 7, 2023, terrorists broke into their home. At 6:00 a.m. Tami went out to the porch to smoke. She returned to the house when the sirens began and entered the bathroom. When the terrorists broke into the house, she hid in the bathroom and heard them taking Yoram out of the safe room and abducting him. She thought that perhaps she had been spared, but the terrorists entered the house once again and found her. They pushed her outside, where she fell onto the road near the house. Young terrorists dragged her to the southern generator junction, where they placed her on a motorcycle that took her to Gaza.
What Happened Since
Tami and Yoram met again in the terror tunnels of Hamas in Khan Yunis. After 53 days, on November 28, 2023, Tami was released as part of the first hostage deal. Yoram remained in the tunnels along with the other men in the group. They were moved from that tunnel and were divided into two groups. Yoram remained with Haim Peri, Avraham Munder, and Alex Dancyg from Nir Oz, and Nadav Popplewell and Yagev Buchshtab from Nirim. They were moved to a narrow tunnel in northern Khan Yunis. On February 14, 2024, the Israeli Air Force struck the routes of the tunnel where they were being held. Fearing that the IDF would breach the tunnel to rescue the hostages, their guards decided to execute them. Yoram’s body was recovered on August 20, 2024, by IDF soldiers, along with the bodies of his friends. On August 22, 2024, he was laid to rest at the Nir Oz cemetery.
May his memory be a blessing.
