Oren Almog, who was critically wounded in the Maxim restaurant terror attack and lost his eyesight as well as five members of his family, married Rotem Alima last week. Alima, a producer who lives in Los Angeles, nearly lost her eyesight herself after contracting a bacterial infection. The wedding took place 23 years after the terror attack that changed Almog’s life.
Pinned to Almog’s jacket were photographs of his father, Moshik, and his brother, Tomer, who were murdered in the attack. Standing beside him under the chuppah (wedding canopy) were his mother, Orly, and his uncle, IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog.
Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi, who attended the wedding, sang “Ahavtia" as the couple entered the wedding chuppah. “I was moved to take part last night in the wedding of Oren Almog and Rotem Alima," he later wrote.
“Oren lost his sight in the explosion at Maxim's restaurant, tragically lost members of his family, and has made an incredible recovery. What an amazing man you are, our Oren, and you too, wonderful Rotem," Artzi added. “I was happy that you invited me to sing ‘Ahavtia’ for you together with Ben Ben. When you entered the chuppah, I was moved to tears. It was a great honor for me."
During the ceremony, Alima offered a prayer for her husband to regain his sight:
“May it be Your will, Holy One, blessed be He, that You send complete healing and great mercy, open the eyes of Oren, son of Orly, and restore his eyesight completely in the coming years. May the process be easy, the surgery successful, and the recovery easy and swift, speedily in our days. Amen, may it be Your will."
After the wedding, Alima said she had decided in advance to save this request for the moment of the wedding chuppah.
“From the moment we got engaged, everyone kept telling me that a bride on her wedding day is considered holy and that her prayers are answered, so I took it seriously and set aside time to pray and ask - for you and for us," she wrote.
“I saved the request that matters most to me for this sacred moment, and I want to ask you to join me in prayer. Ask together with me and shout ‘Amen’ as loudly as you can, so that together we can open the gates of Heaven," she added. “Oren was injured in the terrorist attack in 2003, and ever since, we have been waiting and praying for the moment when he will be able to see again."
Almog was 10 years old when he and his family went to the Maxim restaurant for lunch on October 4, 2003. A female suicide bomber from the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization detonated herself inside the restaurant, killing 21 people and wounding dozens.
Five members of Almog’s family were among those murdered - his father, brother, grandfather, grandmother and cousin. His mother, sister and aunt were wounded, while Oren himself was critically injured and completely lost his sight.
Just two weeks after the attack, his family began a race against time in an attempt to save his eyesight. They raised money to fly him to the US for surgery, but the efforts did not succeed in restoring his vision.
Yet the injury did not stop him from moving forward with his life. Almog returned to study at the Reali School and later, despite being exempt from military service because of his injuries and blindness, requested to enlist and served in the IDF.
Two decades after the Maxim attack, terrorism struck the extended family again. Members of the Goldstein-Almog family from Kibbutz Kfar Aza are relatives of Almog. During the October 7 massacre, Nadav Goldstein-Almog and his daughter Yam were murdered, while Chen and her three children - Agam, Gal and Tal - were abducted to Gaza.
Chen and her children were released after 51 days in captivity as part of the November 2023 hostage deal. In 2025, Sami Jardeat, one of the organizers of the Maxim restaurant attack, was released as part of a hostage deal.