Jakkapong ‘Mon’ Jantharasena, 28: Thai worker married his first love
Murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7
Jakkapong “Mon” Jantharasena, 28, an agricultural worker from Udon Thani in the Kumphawapi District in northeastern Thailand, was murdered on October 7 by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim.
His family said they received word that he was killed along with five other Thai farmhands — including his friend Anucha “Jakky” Sophakul — while hiding inside a bomb shelter next to their lodging in the kibbutz.
His body was flown back to Thailand on November 1. His cremation ceremony was held at the Wat Banden cemetery on November 3. He is survived by his wife, Miew Nisa, his parents, Thongluan and Daosai, his older brothers Sonthaya and Chitprapa, and other relatives.
He and Miew had known each other for many years, growing up together, and had become a couple in 2014, when they were teenagers.
His older brother, Sonthaya, told a Thai news outlet that Jakkapong had been working for about 8 months in Israel when he was killed, picking fruit, and while he’d spoken to his family on Friday, they lost contact on Saturday.
“I don’t know how to put into words what happened,” he said tearfully.
Jakkapong left for Israel in February 2023 to work and send money back to his family to help them build a home. He borrowed money to finance his travels, and his family said he had yet to pay it off when he was killed. He stayed in close touch with his family while he was away, they said, including regular Facetime videos with his young niece, who couldn’t understand what had happened to her uncle.
Jaonai Panpon, a friend of both Mon and Jakky, wrote on Facebook that “even though the two brothers are no longer here for everyone to see, they have brought happiness and laughter to everyone. And even though they no longer live in the real world, they have traveled to someone’s heart and continue to live in that person’s memories.”
His wife, Miew wrote on Facebook a month after he was killed that her husband “came to me in a dream — even if it was just a dream it was the warmest feeling.”
“Thank you for coming to see me,” she wrote. “From now on, you don’t have to come anymore. I’m satisfied. I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. May you be born into a good place. I will always love and miss you. We were brought to each other to be together. Many memories will remain forever. If we are fated to be together, may we be together again.”
