Alina Plahti, 23, Yoni Eliyahu, 21: Wanted to help others heal
Murdered at the Supernova music festival, October 7
Alina Plahti, 23, of Beit She’an, and her boyfriend, Yonatan Eliyahu, 21, of Rishon Lezion, were murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7.
He was buried on October 19 in Rishon Lezion and she was buried on October 30 in Beit She’an, after long waits for their families to find their bodies.
Plahti, a native of Russia, moved to Israel as a baby. Her father is Jewish and her mother is not, and the rabbinate refused to allow her to be buried in a Jewish cemetery, even though her family said she was mid-conversion — sparking an outcry. Following the outrage, local religious authorities said they would lower the fence between the sections and cover it with vegetation.
Plahti is survived by her parents, Olga and Roman and brother Ilya; Eliyahu is survived by his parents, Ori and Liat and sister Avia.
Plahti’s mother, Olga, said Alina used to “light [Shabbat] candles and separate challah… I want to tell you that she was murdered because she was Jewish.”
Olga said she spoke to her daughter after the rockets started firing, and she told her she was running to escape from the terrorists. She called her again 15 minutes later, “and she said ‘Mommy, I can’t talk right now, I’ll call you later, I love you.'” That was the last she heard from her. “We waited three weeks, we searched for her. Alina was very strong, until the last moment we didn’t believe we would get such news.”
Friends and family of Eliyahu said he loved photography and brought his new camera to Supernova to document the event. He loved nature and music festivals, and enjoyed working out and keeping a healthy lifestyle, they recalled. His mother said he had a “joyful energy and a pure heart.”
Plahti’s friend, Tohar Hen, described her on Instagram as “my pure and beautiful angel… everyone could sense your presence, your nobility, your optimism, your energy, just by sitting next to you.”
Hagit Asulin, a friend of the couple, wrote on social media that they met at a party like the Supernova, and since then were inseparable: “He said that Alina would be his wife, he had found the love of his life.”
Asulin wrote that Plahti “overcame depression and anxiety, and she dreamed of becoming a mentor. Together with Yoni, they dreamed of having their own clinic so they could help people heal themselves from darkness and sorrow.”
