Ruth Haran Hertzman of Kibbutz Be’eri passed away last night at the age of 90. Ruth, a Holocaust survivor who lived through the Be’eri massacre, lost her son, Avshalom “Avshal” Haran, on October 7, and seven members of her family were taken hostage.
She will be laid to rest today at 15:30 at the Omer cemetery.
Dr. Shoshan Haran, Avshalom’s wife, was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas. Adi Shoham, 38, Ruth’s eldest granddaughter, was also abducted along with her husband Tal and their two children, Naveh and Yahel, then 8 and 3. Shoshan, Adi, Naveh, and Yahel were returned to Israel in the first hostage deal in November 2023, and Tal came home after 505 days in captivity - in February 2025.
Ruth’s daughter, Sharon Avigdori, the youngest of her three children, was also taken on that day together with her daughter Noam, who was then 12. Both were released in the first hostage deal after 50 days in captivity.
Ruth, who survived the Holocaust and immigrated to Israel from Romania, said in an interview with Aryeh Golan’s “This Morning” program in April 2024 that the events of Black Saturday reminded her of what she had experienced in her youth: “In both cases it was pure evil - deliberate and systematic murder. I never imagined I would feel so helpless again.”
On October 7th, Ruth was alone in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri: “I woke up to the sound of rocket barrages. I immediately tried to reach Avshalom and couldn’t. There was no response from my daughter-in-law or the grandchildren either,” she recalled. “Through the window I saw armed men on the front lawn, and then came a loud knock on the door. I saw them with the green headbands. They were terrifying - but somehow, I wasn’t afraid.”
She described how she acted during the attack: “I stood still for a moment, and suddenly someone called to them. I turned around and ran quickly back inside. I stayed in my hiding spot, shaking with fear, for 15 hours. They were very long hours. Only late that night did our soldiers rescue me and bring me to safety. I saw bodies around me. Horrific. I was witnessing death again - burned houses, the murder of innocent people and tiny infants.”
For Ruth, the day of the massacre was the hardest since the horrors she experienced during World War II. “I woke up to a horrifying reality of invasion, murder, torture, rape, and acts the human mind cannot even imagine,” she said. “It was the loss of all sense of security - the inability to comprehend such a terrible situation.”
“I don’t expect a miracle; I just want them to come back. The crying and mourning don’t leave me,” Ruth said of her kidnapped family members. “I am very angry at this government that is deceiving people. I can’t believe that we have such a despicable prime minister,” she said.
“He is deceiving us. I’m not stupid,” Ruth added angrily. “I know he won’t defeat Hamas - the smart people have already said we won’t defeat them. I so hoped we would be wise enough, but I am proud of the younger generation - so brave and creative.”