Dado Tsafir, 44: Tractor driver, animal lover and devoted father of 3
Murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Supernova music festival on October 7
Dado Tsafir, 44, from Ashkelon, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.
He attended the rave with his friends Moshe Vahedi and Shlomo Alfasi, who had all bought tickets just days before the festival. With the start of the rocket fire, Dado called his wife and said he was heading home since they were shutting it down. All three were shot dead as they tried to leave the site of the festival and were killed by terrorists lying in wait along the road.
His body was not immediately located, and his friends went out to look for him and found his remains hidden in the brush next to the road, where he had tried to hide after being fatally wounded.
Dado was buried in Ashkelon on October 15. He is survived by his wife, Miri, their three children, Itay, Odel and Ariel, his mother Tsitsino and his siblings Yaffa, Ilana, Yonni and Nicole. He was predeceased by his father, Shalom.
A native of Ashkelon, Dado grew up in the city and attended schools there, and later settled there with his wife. He met his wife, Miri, during a trip to Los Angeles to see friends, while she was living there, and the pair stayed in touch and ultimately wed in 2011.
He worked as a tractor driver in southern Israel. He loved animals, including his own pets as well as wildlife. He was close to his faith, his family said, and always put on tefillin each day.
Dado loved to ride motorcycles, especially off-roading, and his friends set up a memorial ride in his honor in April along the route where he was killed.
His friend Shai Saada eulogized him on Facebook, writing that he “went to celebrate, be happy and dance. Who could believe that you would no longer be with us?”
“You left an enormous hole for anyone who only knew you,” he added. “I had the privilege of being your friend Dado Tsafir. I still can’t believe that you’re gone. Look after Miri and the kids from heaven.”
His wife, Miri, said that for Dado, “Family was everything. He so looked forward to becoming a dad, he was a super involved and active father and husband. He always wanted to see me happy and laughing, and his love for his children can’t be explained in words.”
“My Dado, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for 12 years of marriage and for the three chicks you left me. Thank you for your family, and thank you for you.”
