Arie (Zalman) Zalmanowicz

Zalman was one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. He grew up in Haifa and in 1955 he came to Nir Oz, where he continued to live and work for the next 68 years. He was a father of two sons and a grandfather of five grandchildren.
On the 7th of October his Kibbutz, alongside many other communities in the south of Israel, was attacked by Hamas terrorists. Zalman was beaten in the head, pulled out of his house at gunpoint and, allegedly, given the choice: "Do you want to die or get on the motorcycle?" he replied to them "I choose to live".
On December 2nd in a rally to free the hostages, his son Boaz said: “I wish I could say good evening. Yesterday we were informed that ‘Aba (Hebrew for father) Zalman’, Arie Zalmanowicz - man of the land and Kibbutz Nir Oz - was murdered in physical and mental agony at the hands of Hamas.” He further shared that "My father is not a man of words. He is a man of skilled hands and work clothes, and he sees the kibbutz as his life's mission." He recalled speaking to his father for the last time at 9:26 a.m. on that fateful Saturday.
In a statement from Nir Oz, it was said that "Arie dedicated his whole life to working with and nurturing the land, engaged in agriculture and field crops. He was a man of the book with a vast knowledge of history and the land of Israel.
Zalman's absence is deeply felt by his family, friends, and the entire kibbutz community.
Honor the memory of Zalman
Zakman was kidnapped by Hamas, and later his family was informed that he was killed.
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