Those We Have Lost

Sa’id David Moshe, 75: Yom Kippur War veteran and dedicated farmer

Wife Adina, 72, taken captive to Gaza while he was murdered in Kibbutz Nir Oz, October 7

Sa'id David Moshe (Courtesy)
Sa'id David Moshe (Courtesy)

Sa’id David Moshe, 75, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

His wife, Adina, 72, was taken captive in Gaza — her kidnapping filmed and posted online. She was later freed as part of a truce deal.

Family members said the pair was hiding in their home’s safe room as terrorists rampaged through the kibbutz, but somehow the Hamas gunmen managed to shoot through the window, killing Sa’id and succeeding in blowing up the room’s door to grab Adina and take her hostage.

Sa’id and Adina lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz for more than 50 years, and helped grow the community into what it was before the devastating October 7 assault. Sa’id was born in Iraq and moved to Israel as a baby with his family in 1950.

In 1973 he served in the Yom Kippur War, battling in the Golan Heights against the Syrian invasion, alongside his brother, Sgt. Sasson Moshe, who was killed in battle.

While rumors circulated online that Moshe was the figure behind the “Uncle Moshe” logo on a line of vegetables, his family said that he was not the actual person represented on the brand, “but no doubt his spirit stands behind it” as a longtime farmer who helped grow the potatoes, carrots and radishes sold by the company nationwide.

“He was a farmer his entire life,” his daughter, Maya Shoshany, told Israel Hayom. “Anytime anyone from the extended family would visit the kibbutz, he would love to take them on a tour; we would pull potatoes out of the ground with the kids, and my father would show them how to do it right.”

Moshe’s nephew, Yariv Moshe, said his uncle “was a true kibbutznik. He believed in communal life, in hard work. He was responsible for agriculture in the kibbutz for decades and his produce was sold around the world. We would come visit him every year and return with sacks of vegetables.”

Shoshany said, “My father was a moderate man, a lover of people who believed in peace. He worked with many Bedouins, and when Gaza was still open [before Hamas seized control], he would work with people from there too.”

Yariv, the son of Sasson, said that his uncle and the entire family believed in peace and reconciliation.

“My aunt and uncle believed in coexistence,” he told the Walla news site. “Sa’id said that after my father was killed, and he saw the captive Syrian soldiers, he wasn’t even angry at them. All [Sa’id and Adina] wanted in life, so close to the [Gaza] border, was peace and good neighbors.”

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