Zvi Zieman

Dec 27, 2002 - Zvi Zieman, 18, of Reut was one of four yeshiva students killed in Otniel while working in the yeshiva kitchen, serving the Shabbat meal to some 100 students in the adjacent dining room.

Around 7:30 P.M. Friday, two terrorists from the nearby village of Dura in the Hebron area infiltrated Otniel, cutting the fence. They wore army uniforms, carried M-16 rifles, ammunition and hand grenads. The yeshiva, located a short distance from the fence, is a large, well-lit building, and the terrorists chose it as their target. About 100 yeshiva students were gathered in the ground-floor dining hall, waiting for the Friday night Shabbat meal. The two terrorists began to spray the building with bullets from the outside and one entered the kitchen via a service entrance. The four unarmed yeshiva students who were working in the kitchen were killed.

St.-Sgt. Noam Apter, who was on kitchen duty, managed to lock the door to the adjoining dining room before he was shot dead, saving the lives of the students seated at the tables, who opened fire from the dining room. The two terrorists from the Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attack, were later killed by IDF forces.

Zvi (Zvika) Zieman, the second of six children, settled in Reut, located about midway between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, with his family 12 years ago. He completed both elementary and high school in the nearby religious community of Hashmonaim. After a trip to the United States and a year of study at the Otniel yeshiva, he entered the hesder yeshiva program there, in preparation for his upcoming army service. A model airplane enthusiast, he hoped to serve in one of the Air Force MRPV units (mini remotely-piloted vehicle) or in Army Intelligence.

Zvi was active in the Gesher movement, which sought to foster understanding between secular and religious Israelis. He also loved music.