My Last Diary: Thoughts During A Terror Attack
It’s a Saturday morning, October 7, 2023 — 6:30 AM…
My adorable kids are nestled in their beds, peacefully sleeping and dreaming about charming things like unicorns or Pokémon.
Ah, I forgot to introduce myself!
My name is Tamar. I am married to Jonathan, and we have two amazing 6-year-old twin girls and a 4-year-old boy.
I have a lot of dreams 🤗, and one of them is to become the head of the “Eshkol” regional council. I am an activist and a highly esteemed woman; I firmly believe in my capacity to effect positive and meaningful change.
🚨 Surprisingly, the alarm blares, signaling us to rush into the shelter!🚨
We’ll talk about dreams later on
We quickly wake up, gather our kids, and enter the shelter.
Now, we feel relatively safe; the shelter inside our house should protect us (though I know sometimes it may not be enough, but we are optimistic people).
“Allah Akbar! , Itbah al Yehud!” screams from outside
(“Kill the Jews” in Arabic) - it’s not Germany in 1945, it’s Israel in 2023.
My sweet 4-year-old boy began to cry and asked, ‘What’s happening, Mom?’
Honestly, I’m very afraid for my dear family, but I must stay calm for the children.
We hear numerous sounds of gunfire, but we’re doing our best to reassure the kids, saying, ‘Relax, we’re in the shelter; nothing will happen to us.’
Even Jonni tried to lift the mood by wearing a toy helmet and holding a stick.
O-M-G
They are here, we hear those terrorists inside the home!!!
Please pray for us.
“Open the door!!!!” — the terrorists scream.
I promised my dear kids that I would not allow the bad people to open the shelter door, never.
But they shot at the door, firing everywhere.
Behind our shelter door stood a few evil terrorists who came to kill every Jew they found, including women, the elderly, kids, and babies — everyone.
My husband, Jonathan, the love of my life, and I hugged our kids tightly, giving them the warmest embrace we’d ever given, trying to reassure them by saying, ‘Don’t worry, the police and soldiers will come soon and save us.’
But it was too late. The evil terrorists opened the door, murdered Jonathan and me by shootings, and set our house on fire while my kids were still alive!
Our beloved children died of suffocation in the house fire caused by the terrorists.
I had so many dreams I wanted to share with you…
But my husband, my children, and I no longer have a chance.
Don’t forget, that over 224 innocent Israelis were kidnapped, including children, women, and the elderly. Let’s give them the chance to dream again, and bring them back. 💔
I wrote this text while trying to imagine what Tamar Kedem Siman-Tov and her family felt in their last moments, but it is not really possible to comprehend or even convey the shocking emotions they experienced. A family that harmed no one was erased from the world in the most cruel and violent way.
R.I.P
