Yotam Ovadia was murdered in a cold-blooded stabbing attack on Thursday, July 26 in Adam that also wounded two other people. Yotam, 31, was the father of two small children ages 2 and 10 months, and 7 months. May his memory be a blessing.
The murder robs the family of their loving father and husband, and leaves two more orphans too young to remember life before their family was shattered by terror.
The terrorist, a 17-year old Palestinian from a nearby town in the West Bank, infiltrated the town of Adam and began stabbing people he encountered, starting with a 58-year-old man, who was moderately wounded, and then Yotam. A third man heard Yotam’s screams and ran to help, sustaining a stab wound before shooting the terrorist.
The murder took place on the night of Tu B’Av, which is similar to Valentine’s Day in Israel. Yotam had brought flowers for his wife Tal and the couple put their children to sleep. He then went to his parents’ home to collect items he had purchased for a romantic dinner.
He never returned.
At his funeral, Tal spoke about Yotam as a devoted husband and father. “I do not know what will happen to me now regarding the children. I do not know how to continue to be strong for the children,” she said.
“We were everything to him, the house was his kingdom. Yotam was a humble and modest working man. He loved me and the children in a way I never saw. Everything he did was only for us. He always made sure it was good. He always put himself last,” she said.
His father also spoke about the fate of Yotam’s children, who will grow up not knowing the father who loved them so much. “The heart breaks at the sound of your little son calling, ‘Daddy, Daddy.’ The little boy cannot go on without you,” he said