Those We Have Lost

Tamar Goldenberg, 23: Georgian-Israeli who ‘lived in the moment’

Murdered at the Supernova music festival, October 7

Tamar Goldenberg (Courtesy)
Tamar Goldenberg (Courtesy)

Tamar Goldenberg, 23, a dual Israeli-Georgian citizen from Rishon Lezion, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7.

She attended the rave with her close friends, siblings Gideon and Noa Chiell, who were also murdered.

For two weeks her family searched desperately for any sign of her, combing through every hospital, searching through bodies and giving DNA samples, clinging to hope that she was still alive. Her sister told Channel 12 news that her father went down to the front lines to look for her when the IDF was still battling terrorists: “He pushed his way through, he said ‘shoot me, I don’t care, I’m looking for my daughter.'”

After two weeks, the news came — her body had been found.

She was buried on October 22 in Rishon Lezion. She is survived by her parents, Tatiana and Gocha, a sister, Mary, two nieces and her boyfriend, Lior.

Her sister, Mary Lobaton, described her on Facebook as “always living in the moment. You didn’t care about anything materialistic, you never gave things like that any value… You did what you wanted and what felt right. You didn’t think too much, you just did — shopping, singing, dancing, going out, drinking, smoking, getting high, wasting money on nonsense.”

Lobaton said she and her sister were always very different: “You were the crazy one, I was the calm one; you were late, I was on time; you loved sunrises, I sunsets; you were warm, I’m cold; you were spiritual, I’m realistic; you were a rebel, I am obedient. You were you and I was me. And now I feel like there is a lot of you in me.”

Her boyfriend, Lior Somantia, wrote that during their 6.5 years together, “We had our ups and downs but we always found ourselves together again laughing about everything. You are the most unique person I’ve ever met in this world… Your smile is now spread around heaven.”

He wrote that everything now reminds him of Tamar, “Every song, every laugh, every TV show, every item of clothing, every item, every photo — even if you’re not really in it,” he wrote. “Six and a half years and there wasn’t anything we didn’t do together, there was nothing we didn’t experience together, you always laughed that we were together more than a quarter of your life.”

“I was sure and I believed that I could protect and defend you all my life, I was sure that we would get married. I can’t believe that now you will watch over me from there,” he wrote. “My love for you was endless and it will be endless forever.”

Read more Those We Have Lost stories here. 

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