Ron (Roni) is a 25-year-old resident of Karmiel. He is the younger brother of Igor and Yulia. His sister describes him as mischievous and playful, with lots of positive energy and many friends throughout Israel. He can always be counted on if someone needs help, and is especially supportive of his parents. Although he is the youngest in the family, Yulia describes Roni as tall and strong, and says that he ‘has her back’ in every way possible. His dog Johnny misses him so much that every night he goes to Roni’s bedroom and sleeps on his bed.
After traveling the world and brief stints in Eilat and Haifa, Roni returned to Karmiel, where he now works in a sound system company. He soundproofed his room to record trance music until the whole house shakes. No one cares, though, because it’s so full of life. Roni wants to continue developing in the field and has already purchased tickets to Thailand in January with his friends.
Roni’s sister Yulia recalls what happened on that terrible morning of Saturday, October 7th:
“I had no idea that he was attending the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, so I wasn’t worried when the sirens began. Two hours later, I suddenly realized that Roni likes to go to nature parties, so I texted him to ask what was going on. I saw that the message was received but not read. My cousin Roman sent him a message around 10 a.m. and he replied, “I’m okay.” We thought that meant that he was in a safe place. At noon my cousin sent screenshots of Roni at the party that his friends had posted on Facebook in attempts to find him.”
As it turned out, Roni arrived at the party on Friday as part of the production team that would be dismantling the sound systems on Saturday afternoon. Roni managed to flee from the scene of the massacre and hide in a pit near the party with his friend Avichai, who works with him. Eventually they split up, Avichai continued to flee and was saved, but Roni remained in hiding most probably because he was surrounded by terrorists. When he reached a safe location, Avichai tried to contact Roni on WhatsApp, and Roni sent his location. In their last conversation sometime between 10-11 a.m, Roni managed to tell Avichai that ‘they’re here” before the call was cut off. When his friends called again, someone answered in Arabic. They heard laughter and mocking attempts to imitate their frantic calls of ‘Roni, Roni’. Then the call was once again disconnected. Roni was kidnapped to Gaza.
Yulia concludes that “Roni is like a cat; he is a survivor who always lands on his feet. If taken alive, he is probably trying to calm those who are with him. He will return.”
Interviewee: Yulia, Roni’s sister.
