Volume 6, Issue 5 / Iyar, 5763 / May 2003

In the Blink of an Eye

Rachel Charchi, victim of a suicide bomber, is survived by her husband and three children.

Imagine your life and that of your family being changed traumatically in the blink of an eye. One minute you are a family of 5, and the next a family of 4. One minute there is a loving mother and the next she is gone.

On March 30, 2002 Rachel and Zion Charchi were looking forward to a night out. They just wanted a chance to talk to one another, without anyone interrupting. Shortly after placing their order, the bomber detonated his bomb right next to where they were seated. Rachel, 36, of Bat-Yam, was critically injured in a cafe on the corner of Allenby and Bialik streets in Tel Aviv. She died of her wounds. Some 30 others were injured in the attack.

Rachel worked as a secretary for an accounting firm and Zion works for the Holon municipality as a tractor driver. The couple lived in Holon, not far from where Zion grew up with their 3 children, Barak 9, Ariel 14, and Kinneret 15.

Zion Charchi, a tractor driver, was also badly injured. His children need him now more than ever.

Zion was also badly injured. His leg was shattered and he was burned all over. He was hospitalized for two months, and then insisted on continuing his treatment as an outpatient, over his doctor's objections. His being home was an urgent necessity, as his children need him now more than ever. The whole family is receiving psychological treatment. 

Since the tragedy Rachel's parents have moved to Holon in order to be closer to their grandchildren and Zion's parents live just around the corner.

The Jewish Agency Fund for the Victim's of Terror assisted the family to purchase a computer and stereo system and opened savings plans for the family's children.

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