Alon Nimrodi, father of Staff Sergeant Tamir Nimrodi, who was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas during the October 7 massacre and laid to rest Thursday, shared an extraordinary act of heroism his son displayed on the day of his abduction.
"Tamir's personal act of heroism was something that couldn't be told about, a specific situation we were exposed to about a year ago," Alon told Channel 12 News in an interview.
He explained that when his son was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip alongside the late Nik Beizer, Tamir kept his composure and used extraordinary resourcefulness. "As soon as Tamir was kidnapped, he regained his senses within minutes and fabricated a story to save himself. He did this to avoid being beaten and hurt, and perhaps create a situation where he would be freed in a quick or different process."
Adding that there were four terrorists in the vehicle, he recounted: "During the drive, they asked Nik where he was from, and he said, 'I'm from Israel,' and they beat him and cursed at him. When they asked Tamir where he was from, Tamir very calmly replied, 'I'm from Iraq.'"
According to Alon, Tamir understood that being from Israel wasn’t beneficial to him, so he said he was from Iraq. "And the conversation continued - he essentially made up a story on the spot. Anyone who knew Tamir knew he was a master storyteller and could convince you of a story he made up right then and there, and you'd believe him in the end. This was a small act of heroism on his part, a story about how he dealt with the situation he found himself in, a story of extraordinary resourcefulness."