Dr. Lilia Gurevich, 38: Molecular biologist who loved science fiction

Dr. Lilia Gurevitch, 38, from Omer, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Supernova music festival on October 7.

Lilia attended the rave with her boyfriend, Shlomi Sividia, who was slain alongside her as they tried to flee the rocket fire. While at the festival, the two bumped into Sividia’s older sister Jenny, and her boyfriend, who managed to survive and escape the massacre.

Her father David told Ynet that Lilia and Shlomi attempted to leave the festival once the rocket fire started, and entered Kibbutz Re’im, to find shelter. It was there that they were killed.

Before her death, Lilia managed to make a final phone call to her parents, telling them not to worry and that she was on her way home and would explain what had happened then.

Lilia was a mother to six-year-old twins, a daughter and a son, of whom she had shared custody with her ex-husband. She was buried in her hometown of Omer on October 12 and is survived by her parents, two brothers and her children.

The director of the molecular biology department at Amai Proteins, Lilia was described by her family and colleagues as having had a deep love and appreciation for science, as well as science fiction.

“She loved science, she always answered her children’s questions about proteins with utmost seriousness,” her father told Calcalist. “But she also loved science fiction. Doctor Who, The Lord of the Rings and Star Trek were our shared hobby.”

The Thursday before the music festival, David and Lilia attended a science fiction exhibition in Tel Aviv along with Lilia’s children.

“We had fun,” David said. “Today I see it was a heartwarming moment that will remain in my memory.”

The love Lilia had for her field of work was evident in the way her coworkers described the impact that her loss has had, both personally and professionally.

“Lilia was a colorful, boisterous character with wild curls,” the VP of production at Amai Proteins Yigal Gezundhait told Calcalist back in October. “The whole future of the company passed through her, she wasn’t an employee that can be replaced tomorrow… And that’s aside from the enormous social and emotional hole.”

The lab in which Lilia worked was renamed “the Dr. Lilia Gurevich-Vasilkovky laboratory” after her death, and the company has said that it will name the next variant of the protein it is developing after her when it is released on the market.

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