Abigail Leitel

Abigail Leitel, 14, of Haifa, was one of 15 people killed in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus on Moriah Boulevard in the Carmel section of Haifa.

The bus was traveling on the city's main Moriah Boulevard near the Carmel Center, on the way to Haifa University, when the blast turned the bus into a charred wreck and scattered bodies along the road. The suicide bomber, who had boarded the bus, had the bomb strapped to his body, laden with metal shrapnel in order to maximize the number of injuries. A total of 15 people were killed and 55 injured.

Abigail Leitel, an eighth grader at Haifa's Reali High School majoring in biology and environmental studies, was on her way home from school. Born in New Hampshire, she came to Israel as an infant when her father came to study at Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa. He was later appointed representative of the Baptist Church in Israel.

The high school's principal, Zvika Reiter, described Abigail as having been mature for her age and cheerful. Her brother Joshua said, "My sister was a creative girl who loved everyone. Her first love was for humanity, and after that, nature." He added, "She always believed that God loves her and wouldn't let anything happen to her. But in the end the pain and sadness has reached us as well."

Avigail Leitel and Yuval Mendelevitch, also killed in the bombing, had been part of the Children Teaching Children program at Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva since last September - a program that teaches pluralism, tolerance and coexistence. They and their classmates were preparing for the upcoming encounter with Arab youth from a neighboring town in just a few days. The encounter will be dedicated to their memory.

Abigail Leitel will be buried on Sunday in the Christian cemetery in Haifa. She is survived by her parents, Philip and Heidi, and four siblings.