Marlene Menahem

Aug 4, 2002 - Marlene Menahem, 22, of Moshav Safsufa was one of 9 people killed in the suicide bombing of Egged bus No. 361 traveling from Haifa to Safed at the Meron junction in northern Israel.

Egged bus No. 361 left Haifa for Safed at 7:15 Sunday morning. The terrorist, who had boarded the bus, exploded the bomb at the Meron junction near Safed just before 9:00. The blast blew off the roof of the bus, which then burst into flames, killing or wounding nearly everyone inside.

Shimon, Marlene Menahem's father, dropped his daughter off at the bus stop at the Meron junction, a few minutes before the 361 bus was due. This was part of the regular Sunday routine. Marlene was on her way to work at a clothing shop in Safed. Shimon barely made it back to Moshav Safsufa, when he heard the boom emanating from the junction. Marlene never even made it into the bus. She was about to go enter its front door when the bomb went off. She was killed because the bomb was detonate

"You have to understand what sort of young woman this was," said Marlene's uncle, Yosef Shukrun. "She was full of smiles, and loved to play and laugh. She loved the world." Also wounded in the explosion was Shlomo Maman, a relative, who was on his way to the army base where he served voluntarily, having been exempted from service because of a disability.

About 900 people live on Safsufa, founded in 1954 by immigrants from Morocco. The moshav continues to have a traditional-religious character.

Marlene Menahem was buried in Safsufa. She is survived by her parents, Shimon and Bruria, two sisters and a brother.