Ilya Gutman

He was a "child of the heart." That's how Ilya's loved ones describe him. And it doesn't sound like a tribute to a fallen one. He truly was the pillar of the family—for his parents, and for his younger brother Misha, who has suffered from a severe illness since childhood—cerebral palsy.

The Gutman family (who previously lived in Kazakhstan) moved to Israel in 1992 because of Misha—hoping that he would be treated here and learn to walk. And indeed, a miracle happened: after numerous surgeries, the boy stood on his feet, went to school, and made friends his age.

To support the family and his younger brother, Ilya took a deferment from the army and went to work in a garage. He had never dealt with mechanics before, and the garage owner simply couldn't believe it, as the novice mastered the trade surprisingly quickly.

In two to three years, the entire large Gutman clan moved to Israel, where all the children were roughly the same age.

Zoya Kushnir-Gutman, Ilya's aunt: — Our children were so close—all of them. Now they are all between 19 and 24 years old. We were already thinking that soon we would start marrying them off. Ilya had a girlfriend—Anya. She was also with him at that disco. She was injured by shrapnel, underwent surgery, and as soon as she was discharged from the hospital, she came here immediately. We didn't know that Ilya and Anya were planning to build a life together; parents always find out last, and our youth evidently already knew. Ilya had many friends who called him day and night. Yesterday, many of them came to the cemetery in military uniform, with weapons...

Victoria Gutman, Ilya's cousin: — Usually, Ilyusha and I were everywhere together. But that evening, June 1st, it happened that I was invited to a birthday party in Modiin, while he went out to have fun in Tel Aviv. When I heard the news of the explosion, my heart sank, and I told my friends: "Take me to Tel Aviv." I asked all our mutual acquaintances where my Ilyushka was. Someone said they saw him on TV, as if he was running somewhere. But that was apparently another guy—there are plenty of boys wearing red t-shirts! We rushed to Wolfson Hospital, then to Ichilov. My brother was nowhere to be found. And then we were told that we would probably have to go to Abu Kabir. We sat there all night. They first found Roma, his friend, and then Ilyusha. What I don't understand is how he ended up at "Dolphi"? He wasn't supposed to go there! Ilyusha's mother recounts that he looked back to say goodbye and said: "I'll be back soon. I'm not even taking my keys."

Natasha Gutman, Ilya's aunt: — He was such a caring, gentle boy. You know, they say about such people—"child of the heart." I remember when Ilyusha was three years old, you would meet him with his parents, and you would say: "Hello, Ilyushenka!" and he would peek out from behind his dad or mom, looking with those huge eyes and just smiling in response. He was a boy who did everything around the house—he didn't divide work into male and female. He cleaned the apartment (he even cleaned the whole apartment that terrible Friday before he left), washed the dishes, and cooked wonderfully. And he also painted beautifully—he decorated the entire wall in his room. He had such an amazing thirst for life; he wanted to do everything, as if he felt that his time was limited.

Shelly Shraiman. Special Edition of "Vesti"