Ofek Atun, 24: Hard worker dreamed of becoming a successful DJ

Ofek Atun, 24, from Holon, was killed on October 7 in Kibbutz Alumim after fleeing the Supernova music festival.

Ofek and his girlfriend, Tamar, left the site of the rave with the start of the rocket fire and took up safety in a roadside bomb shelter outside Alumim.

Shortly after 7 a.m., Hamas terrorists attacked the shelter, opening fire on the partygoers huddled inside, murdering eight of them. Ofek and Tamar survived and decided to seek safety inside the kibbutz.

The two of them entered the kibbutz at 7:23 a.m. and broke into the home of an elderly couple, who had locked themselves in their bomb shelter. The homeowners alerted the Alumim local security team that people had broken into their home, assuming they were terrorists.

Two local security team members entered the home, and Ofek assumed they were terrorists, attacking one from behind and trying to save Tamar. The officer returned fire and killed him before 8 a.m. Tamar was also shot and wounded but ultimately rescued and survived.

Ofek was buried in Holon on October 11. He is survived by his parents, Nitza and Haim, and his older brothers Tal and Eden.

The baby of the family, Ofek was raised in Holon, attending local schools, according to a municipal eulogy. From a young age his family nicknamed him Kiko, a moniker that stuck.

He started working at a young age, first at a water park, then in gardening and eventually at a gas station. After finishing high school, he enlisted in the IDF, serving in the Combat Engineering Corps, and kept working during his breaks.

Ofek completed his mandatory service during the COVID pandemic, and his big plans to travel the world were thwarted. But he kept working hard, always seeking financial independence. After years working at a gas station he sought to own his own branch, but the bank wouldn’t provide him a loan at such a young age.

Instead, Ofek began working at a branch of a falafel eatery in Givatayim and brought it back from the brink of closure, his loved ones said.

But above all, Ofek loved trance music and festivals, dreaming of becoming a successful DJ and performing around the world, according to a memorial website. He had a DJ table set up in his room, and would return home after a long day of work to record music – already releasing five tracks of his own under the name Kiko — and the walls of his room were covered in foam to absorb the sound.

He was also a loving and doting uncle to his 4-year-old nephew, Leo.

Ofek’s girlfriend, Tamar, wrote on an Instagram memorial page, “Your face is etched into my soul and your soul will always be with me.”

Tamar said she wakes up every morning, “and I go to make coffee the way you like it: two teaspoons of Taster’s Choice — only Taster’s! — with a small teaspoon of sugar and water halfway and a splash of milk, it can’t be full all the way or it spills on you and you get annoyed.” Now, she said, she only drinks coffee the way Ofek did.

“A week ago, I made red pasta with schnitzel and I couldn’t stop the tears because it was our meal. In general, the kitchen was our domain so it’s hard to enter, like hot dogs with Israeli couscous, stir fry, pancakes in the morning — those were all ours.”

Tamar added that it is impossible to come to terms with the fact that Ofek “is not by my side. How can it be that I’m crying next to you and you’re not wiping away my tears? How are you not smiling with your dimples and telling me that everything will be OK? How are you not with me in this long rehabilitation period?… I believe wholeheartedly that you are in a much better place than here.”

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