Raffi Mordo, 84: Rough kibbutznik with a soft heart

Raffi Mordo, 84, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

Mordo was buried on October 19 in Kibbutz Revivim. His former son-in-law, Avi Mor, was also murdered in the Hamas onslaught and buried the same day.

He is survived by his sister Rashlina, his children Tamira and Sapir, his grandchildren Roi, Gil, Tomer Alex and Inbar, and his great-granddaughter, Vega.

Mordo was born in Tel Aviv to a Greek father and an Italian mother. According to the obituary on the Kibbutz Be’eri website, little is known about Mordo’s childhood aside from the fact that he lost his eye at the age of eight playing with a knife.

Despite this, he proudly touted the fact that he never got a single traffic ticket driving with one eye.

Mordo moved to Kibbutz Be’eri as a young teenager to join those who came with the Youth Aliyah movement in the 1950s, where he met his future wife, Eti.

He never told anyone the full details of his later teen years serving in the IDF but did share with friends and family that he briefly shared a tent with Arik Einstein as a new recruit before Einstein was moved to the military band.

Mordo also fought in the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War, but never spoke about those experiences.

Immediately after his IDF service, Mordo returned to Be’eri and worked as an auto mechanic and then took a position at the Be’eri printing house. According to the kibbutz website, he was very handy and built many beds and wardrobes for fellow Be’eri residents.

Mordo also got married to Eti after the army, and the two were together for thirty years.

He is remembered as a devoted, loving family man who maintained close relationships with his children and grandchildren over the years. He kept a daily appointment at 11:30 a.m. in the kibbutz dining hall to eat lunch with his daughter Tamira.

In his later years, Mordo was accompanied by a caretaker named Ziona, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri whom he liked very much, according to the kibbutz website. She was the last person to talk to Mordo when he called her on October 7 to tell her that terrorists were in his neighborhood and had broken into his house.

Mordo had a tendency toward stubbornness but was always the first to help someone in need. His harsh, critical side went hand in hand with his soft side and his loyalty to his family and the kibbutz.

Loved ones wrote in a memorial post that Mordo was an intelligent, knowledgeable person.

“He gave his all to do only good.”

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