On Thursday evening, Kibbutz Tze'elim in the Negev hosted a bar and bat mitzvah ceremony for students from Kibbutz Be'eri, dedicated to their classmates, the twins Liel and Yanai Hetzroni, who were murdered in the October 7 massacre.
"Nine months ago, we were just another class in Be'eri, looking forward to celebrating our bar and bat mitzvah year like everyone else, but then everything we had planned shattered," the class representatives said during the ceremony preceding the celebration.
Liel and Yanai were twin siblings born to Shira Hetzroni. Post childbirth, Shira underwent a brain injury that resulted in her physical disability. Their grandfather Avia and aunt Ayala stepped in to care for the children and nurtured them along with the entire Be'eri community. The twins, their grandfather and their aunt were all killed on October 7.
In addition to the twins, the ceremony for the students also honored the memory of the senior youth team members who were killed in the massacre—Lior Tarshansky, Carmel Bachar and Alon Even. Participants created fire-lit inscriptions with the names of the class members, including Liel and Yanai. In total, 101 members of Kibbutz Be'eri were murdered on October 7.
"Liel and Yanai were an inseparable part of our class, spreading light and love wherever they went," the class representatives said during the ceremony. "This year has not been easy. There were moments of crisis and pain, times when we thought we had no chance of succeeding, but despite everything, we tried again and again to make this year the best it could be.
"We didn't give up on important activities and tried to do everything as if we were still in Be'eri. But it was still different, attending activities and remembering that our friends were not with us, that they had been so eager to share this experience. In everything we did, we felt your absence, Liel, Yanai, Lior, Alon and Carmel—you were all an integral part of this event, and we will always commemorate you."
Dan Algaranti, a parent representative who lost his father-in-law, Yoram Bar-Sinai, in the massacre, said: "The massacre in our home in Be'eri brought upon us a terrible disaster, so immense that I can't put it into words. Sometimes it seems like this will be a central part of our lives—understanding what happened to us. The brutal nightmare of that day has become our reality.
"Our hearts break every moment, with every sudden thought that attacks, our hearts shrink to the size of a pea. In our minds, they constantly appear, those who should have been here but are not. Liel and Yanai, our beloved and sweet children, who had such little time and are no longer here on this stage, their absence is heart-wrenching. The parents, siblings, uncles and grandparents—we are very sad, even when we are very happy. Today we are both happy and very sad, and somehow, despite everything, we are still a little bit happy."