Café Apropo terror attack victims immortalized in memorial
A memorial containing 3 palm trees is dedicated to the memories of the café attack's 3 victims: Anat Winter-Rosen, Michael Avrahami and Yael Gilad; attack was captured in now iconic photo of policewoman carrying Winter-Rosen's baby; 'Life must go on,' says Winter-Rosen's husband.
A memorial to the three victims of the 1997 terror attack at Café Apropo in Tel Aviv will be dedicated Wednesday evening at Beit Hanna, the scene of the attack. The memorial will feature three palm trees.
On March 21, 1997, terrorist Ibrahim Ghanimat arrived at the café, placed an explosive charge there and fled. The blast killed three women—Anat Winter-Rosen, Michael Avrahami and Yael Gilad—and wounded 48 others.
The attack was immortalized in Israel's collective consciousness due to a famous photo of Shani Winter, Anat's baby girl, dressed as a clown and carried away from the café by policewoman Ziona Bushri.
Shai Avrahami, who lost his wife Michal during the attack, said, "20 years later, it will always be a part of me, but my message is you have to get up, regain your composure and get back to the world of the living."
Avrahami himself was wounded in the attack. "as someone who was there, the experience and memory of the event will always be part of me. It's part of who we are even two decades hence. The pain doesn't go anywhere and the feeling of missing out is horrid, but I think finding the strength to distance yourself from it, from those painful minutes and memories, are crucial, doubly so for the people who were actually there," he said.
"I always look forward, carrying the memory with me. At this evening's event we'll be remembering and honoring the victims," he added.
Michal, who was 31 when she was killed, was pregnant at the time. "She was just starting life. We were a young couple, married for only three years. When you look at it from a 20-year perspective, you realize that while you shouldn't forget what happened, you shouldn't dwell on it either. You have to get up, get back to work and start a family again. Real strength is in creating life anew," he concluded.
Moshe, Yael Gilad's father, said as far as he knew the terrorist intended to get to Dizengoff to carry out the attack, but chose Café Apropo instead.
"Yael finished her army service with distinction and had a master's degree in social work. She was a mental health officer in the army's Bahad 12 and took care of people who were traumatized during the terrorist attack heyday. After she was killed, girls came to us saying Yael saved their lives, because they were considering suicide," Moshe said.
Moshe Gilad then went on to thank Yoav Kadmon and Ronny Douek, the entrepreneurs who carried out construction on the three women's memorial. "I think I speak for Shai when I thank them profusely for dedicating the three palms to our girls. It was a very bold move. To create a memorial on the site of the attack shows a lot of respect for them," he said.
