George Yakobovitch

Mar 27, 2002 - George Yakobovitch, 76, of Holon was one of 28 people killed in a suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, in the midst of the Passover holiday seder.

On the eve of Passover, the terrorist walked into the dining room of the hotel, located in the center of Netanya, where 250 guests had just sat down to begin the seder. He detonated an explosive device, killing 22 immediately and injuring 140, six of whom died later. The bomber was identified as a member of the Hamas Iz a Din al-Kassam Brigades, from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, which is just 10 kilometers (six miles) east of Netanya. He was on the list of wanted terrorists Israel had

George (Meir-Shlomo) Yakobovitch was a gentle and modest man, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. Twenty years ago, he married Andre Fried's mother Anna (Annika), also a Holocaust survivor, whom he had known since childhood in Hungary. George was a well-known lawyer and notary in the community of Hungarian immigrants. He worked in Tel Aviv but returned to Holon every day for the afternoon break to be with Anna before returning to Tel Aviv for the rest of the workday.

George and Anna were to celebrate the Passover seder this year together with Anna's son Andre and his family. The children phoned to say they were delayed. George Yakobovitch was killed in the blast along with Andre Fried and his wife Idit. Anna Yakobovitch succumbed to her injuries on April 11.

George Yakobovitch was buried in the Yarkon cemetery in Tel-Aviv. He is survived by a daughter from a previous marriage, Aliza.