Those We Have Lost

Eden Ben Rubi, 23: Artist, life of the party who lived ‘every moment’

Murdered by Hamas terrorists near the Supernova music festival on October 7

Eden Ben Rubi (Facebook)
Eden Ben Rubi (Facebook)

Eden Ben Rubi, 23, a Greek-Israeli dual national who lived in Rishon Lezion, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7.

She fled the festival when rockets started firing, and sought safety in a roadside bomb shelter, where she was slain by Hamas terrorists who fired inside and threw grenades into the structure. Her boyfriend, Ariel Biton, was also killed that day.

Eden was buried on October 11 in Rishon Lezion. She is survived by her parents, Meirav and Uzi and her younger brother, Roei.

She was born in Thessaloniki and would spend summers as a child at a camp in Greece while growing up in Israel. Her friends and family described her as a bubbly girl who loved to attend parties and be the center of attention, collected friends from every station in life, and was a talented artist who loved to draw.

Her close friend, Sagiv Barazani said in a memorial video for Channel 13, “I don’t know how to start to talk about Eden, the girl that everyone wanted around them. The girl who was always looking for action. Who always loved to go out and enjoy and take life by storm.

“You were simply one big heart. We knew that you were a character, that you were just Eden,” he added. “We were friends for so long that I began to understand that I don’t even remember myself [before you]. So many of my dreams were with you as a duo… We had so many plans and those plans were supposed to happen only with you. Because you were my best friend in the world.”

Her friend Stav Nurieli told a Greek news site that Eden “loved music, painting, tattoos. She was funny and full of love for the world. The best memories I have with her were from the camp we went to together for 10 years. We were team leaders, we slept together… ‘Love and peace,’ that’s what Eden would say today if she was here.”

Her uncle, Lior Shikva Assia, wrote on social media that Eden was his niece but he always thought of her as “my little sister. My soulmate and my keeper of secrets. My Edena. You’ve left me with a shattered heart that already misses you.”

Later, Lior wrote, “When I think about the fact that my children will hear so many stories about Eden (because there is so much to tell), it kills me that they won’t know her… With all the pain, the sadness, the thoughts, the longing and God knows what else we’re carrying with us day to day, I am sure and I know that Eden would want us to have fun.”

Her younger brother, Roei, said on the Kan public broadcaster that Eden “was the heart of our home, truly, now it’s so hard… Eden was a girl who lived life, every moment in her life, she knew how to live it. She didn’t care what people said about her, she was just herself.”

Her mother Meirav noted on social media that, “from a young age Eden was discovered to be very talented at drawing… Eden painted on canvases in varied sizes, and developed a line of products with drawings on different objects related to the ocean and nature, on surfboards, on matkot [paddle ball], planters and more.” Her mother noted that she also did face painting and drew tattoos.

“Eden’s driving force was to experience the world, to be surrounded by family and friends,” she added. “She loved to travel in Israel and even more loved to fly and see the world. She loved nature and in particular, loved the sun, sunrises and sunsets.”

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