Shiri Nagari

Jun 18, 2002 - Shiri Nagari, 21, of Jerusalem, was one of 19 people killed in a suicide bombing at the Patt junction in Egged bus no. 32A traveling from Gilo to the center of Jerusalem.

The terrorist boarded the bus at 7:50 A.M. at the stop in Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood opposite Gilo, and almost immediately detonated the large bomb which he carried in a bag stuffed with ball bearings. The blast destroyed the front half of the bus, packed with people on their way to work and schoolchildren. Of the 19 victims, 17 were residents of the Gilo neighborhood; 74 people were injured.

Shiri Nagari was to have celebrated her 22nd birthday in 10 days and her family had planned a surprise birthday party for her. Her brother Shahar, 15, said Shiri had missed her regular bus to work at Bank Leumi in Jerusalem and he and their mother had taken her on a short cut so she would not have to wait for the next one. Shiri was mortally injured in the explosion and died on the operating table.

Shiri, the third in a religious family of five children, had long blonde hair which reached her ankles, which she usually wore in a long braid. Her mother Esther works in the Central Bureau of Statistics and her father Tuvia is a well-known dentist. She served in the army as a teacher, working with young school drop-outs. Afterwards she traveled for a year in the United States, and then for another year in South America. She returned home on the eve of Passover this year.

Shiri planned to study dentistry or biology at Hebrew University. Her cousin Nataneli said Shiri, who had studied at Pelech high school, was unique and extremely energetic. "She was very talented and lived life to the full. She sang, danced and had many friends," he said.

Shiri Nagari was buried in Jerusalem. She is survived by her parents, two brothers and two sisters.