Ayelet Arnin, 22: Kan news editor who was an ‘old soul’

Ayelet Arnin, 22, a news editor with the Kan public broadcaster, from Atzmon, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival near Gaza on October 7.

Kan’s military reporter Itay Blumenthal said that she texted him in the final moments of her life, saying she was seeking shelter in a roadside bomb shelter as terrorists were throwing grenades inside, and begged him to alert the IDF for help.

“There’s no army here, that we can see, check please,” she wrote to him at 7:45 a.m. “Now, please, they’re throwing grenades,” she updated at 8 a.m. He told her to lock themselves inside and she replied at 8:03: “There’s no way to, it’s [an open-sided] shelter.” That was her last message.

She is survived by her parents, Debbie and Ami, and her siblings Nimrod and Ofer. She was buried on October 11 in Misgav.

“Ayelet started working for us a year ago and was the epitome of professionalism and diligence, and always strived for perfection in her work and was very much loved by all of us,” Kan said in a statement confirming her death.

Kan political reporter Michael Shemesh described Arnin as “matter-of-fact, professional, hard-working, kind-hearted and never did harm to anyone, ever. I feel lucky that I had the privilege of working with her almost every day at Kan.”

Before joining Kan, Arnin served in the IDF as a news editor with Army Radio.

Kan anchor Michal Rabinovich described her as a “bright star, the best among us,” adding that Arnin “was my favorite, we sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, you were my right hand. I had so hoped that your sharpness, your creativity had saved you, I was waiting for you to come back. I’m sorry you had to go through horror. I hope you didn’t suffer, rest in peace, my love.”

Her aunt, Adi Hartston dedicated the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to Arnin, saying that “ever since she was a baby she was serious, checking things out with wise eyes, looking at everything and understanding everything — like an old soul.” She said at family gatherings Arnin was always a little reserved, but when they would try out the “20 Questions” game in the weekend Haaretz newspaper, “she was a champion, she knew everything. She had many friends, she was a pillar of support, was always there for them.”

Hartston said Arnin blossomed in recent years at Army Radio and then later at Kan: “Ayelet was a gentle soul, full of good, a girl with clear values, values of empathy, helping others and endless generosity. Ayelet, you will always stay in our heart.”

Her brother, Nimrod, one of the organizers of Supernova, wrote that “Ayelet my love, you will forever be a loving and supporting sister, loyal and family-oriented, the anchor and basis for everyone.”

“It’s hard for me to speak about you in the past tense, it’s hard to think that I won’t see you again and won’t get to hug you,” he wrote. “I am choosing to capture all of our last moments together, the trip to Italy that was so important and now even more so… I’m sorry that I didn’t get to hug you and say hi when you came to the party, I was sure that we would have more time to dance together.

“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you when we were there, I’m sorry I didn’t succeed in sending people to save you, I’m sorry that it ended this way.”

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