Oded, 83 years old, was born in Haifa and was a student at Shomer Ha’Tsa’ir. 

He came to Nir Oz about 60 years ago as part of the founding core, where he met and fell in love with and married Yochka. 

The couple has four children, nine grandchildren and have one great-granddaughter.

Yochka and Oded created a warm and unified home together, where they host the family every Friday evening despite their age and various limitations – family is everything for them. 

Among the things they enjoy doing together are taking each grandchild abroad for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, cooking and cultivating a huge cactus garden. 

His prize “Princess Cactus” is viewed once a year when it blooms by one and all. 

During the “Sabra” – cactus fruit – season, the members of the kibbutz enjoy the fruits that Oded distributes in the dining room, fruit he cultivated and toiled to grow. 

Oded was a journalist at “Al Hamishmar” Newspaper for many years, and even when he received an offer from the “Haaretz” newspaper, he refused and continued to write for “Al Hamishmar” out of loyalty to his professional roots and political alliance. 

Even after retirement, Oded continues to write articles as a freelancer, thus remaining, as his wife, aware, active and up to date on current affairs. 

Oded is a peace-loving, pro-Palestinian and Arabic-speaking Israeli, who for many years drove Palestinians who seeked medical care in Israel from the Erez checkpoint (Gaza envelope) to Jerusalem, so they could get treatment in Israeli hospitals. 

He, like others on his Kibbutz, has been active in cultivating and protecting his state from its founding, and has proudly fought in all Israel’s wars.

Oded is a bookworm, plays the piano and is very sociable – a real ‘people person’ who likes to share the many personal stories that have made up his life.

Unfortunately, Oded is still being held hostage in Gaza by the Hamas, while thankfully Yochta has just been released.