Ya'akov Shani

Mar 31, 2002 - Ya'akov Shani, 53, of Haifa was one of 15 people killed in a suicide bombing in Haifa, in the Matza restaurant of the gas station near the Grand Canyon shopping mall.

Just after 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon, during the Passover holiday, the terrorist entered the popular Matza restaurant in the Neve Sha'anan district near the Grand Canyon mall. The explosion tore the roof off the one-story building, and blew out the windows, instantly killing 14 people, and leaving horrific scenes of people on fire, and people with lost limbs. Over 40 people were injured.

Ya'akov Shani had gone with his wife Dalia to visit her elderly mother, and Ya'akov had fixed her shutters. "Then he went to eat at the restaurant, as he did almost every day. He wanted me to go with him, but I had to stay with my mother who was sick." Ya'akov was killed in the blast.

Shani, an engineer by profession, was director-general of the Israeli company ABB. He is also survived by his two children, a son who is studying in America and a daughter who is married.

Ya'akov Shani was buried in Kibbutz Einav. He is survived by his wife, his parents, his son Tzahi and daughter Tali.