Yossi Mamistavlov

Sept 19, 2002 - Yossi Mamistavlov, 39 of Or Yehuda was one of six people killed when a suicide terrorist detonated a bomb in Dan bus No. 4 on Allenby Street, opposite the Great Synagogue in Tel-Aviv. Hamas claimed responsbility for the attack.

The explosion was set off by the suicide bomber shortly before 13:00 PM in the front section of the bus. The bus had been en route from the central bus station to northern Tel Aviv. The bomber apparently boarded the bus at a stop opposite the synagogue and then detonated the device, killing six and wounding about 70. The blast scorched the bus and blew out its windows.

Yossi Mamistavlov was driving the bus on the No. 4 line when the suicide bomber boarded the bus. A driver for the Dan Cooperative for 15 years, he had said that if a terrorist boarded his bus he would throw himself at him to save the passengers' lives. His brother-in-law said anyone who knew Yossi was not surprised at the reports that he had stopped the terrorist from making his way into the bus.

Yossi immigrated to Israel from Georgia 30 years ago. His father died when he was a small child and his mother raised him, his two brothers and sister in Or Yehuda. After he married, he and his family continued to live with his elderly mother.

Yossi Mamistavlov was buried in the Yarkon Cemetery outside Tel Aviv. He is survived by his wife Esther and their four children - Moran (14), Avraham (11), Matan (2½) and Or-el (1½ months), as well as his mother and three siblings.