Those we have lost

Sgt. First Class Itai Bausi, 22: Fought terrorists with his bare hands

Off-duty soldier in elite Duvdevan unit killed at the Supernova music festival, October 7

Sgt. First Class Itai Bausi, 22, of the Duvdevan commando unit, was killed during the Supernova desert rave on October 7 (Courtesy)
Sgt. First Class Itai Bausi, 22, of the Duvdevan commando unit, was killed during the Supernova desert rave on October 7 (Courtesy)

Sgt. First Class Itai Yehuda Bausi, 22, of the Duvdevan commando unit, was killed while off-duty and attending the Supernova music festival on October 7.

He is survived by his parents, Julie and Shahar, and his siblings Noa, Yoav and Assaf. He was buried on October 12 in Kvutzat Yavne.

Witnesses said that Bausi, who was due to be released from his army service in two months, fought the terrorists with his bare hands and took care of those who were wounded before he was killed.

He had been home with his family for Shabbat and went to the rave after Friday night dinner with his family, wrote his mother, Julie Farron, on Facebook.

The 22-year-old from the Kvutzat Yavne kibbutz left a message on his girlfriend’s phone that he was shot in the back and leg. He said he was okay and that he loved her.

“We now know that Itai and his friend Ben [Mizrachi] chose not to run and there are videos of them on the front lines with a first-aid bag,” wrote Julie, who was told by others that Bausi saved their lives.

“We are pretty sure he crawled to a field and was alone when he died but we’ll never know,” she wrote.

His mother wrote in their kibbutz newsletter that Bausi and his girlfriend, Carmel, had plans to marry and live in the north. They dreamed of having three children and raising sheep.

Julie later spoke to The Times of Israel about her son, saying that she wants people to know that Itai was a loyal, loving son and friend, that he had an extremely bright future ahead, “that he was humble and funny and a lot of fun to be around,” and that he didn’t run when disaster struck on October 7.

He was the most Israeli of her four children, the one who spoke English with a noticeable Israeli accent.

“He was very Israeli,” she said. “When he died, I thought, ‘He’s never going to see the leaves change color in Vermont in the fall,’ and I realized, he didn’t care.”

Itai’s girlfriend of five years, Carmel Ripstein, eulogized him at his funeral, speaking of “how courageous you were Itai, my warrior.”

“How many dreams we shared of flying together to Jamaica, chilling on the beach, smoking a doobie while listening to Bob Marley,” she recounted. “Living in a small house in a beautiful kibbutz up north, with dogs and sheep and maybe one cat, just one. With little kids with curly hair, running around barefoot just like you did with the prettiest hair in the world, like yours.”

“We were meant to grow old together, but that’s all gone now, because you left me here, crushed, hurting to my core.”

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