Yonatan Azulay, 25: Jerusalemite lived each day like it was his last

Yonatan Hai Azulay, 25, from Jerusalem, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.

Yonatan attended the rave that weekend with his girlfriend, Tal, and a number of other friends. When the rocket fire began, they left via car but were stopped at a police roadblock, which directed them instead to a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Alumim.

Inside the shelter, Yonatan called his mother and told her they were under attack, telling her that there was no army or police to save them: “Take care of yourself, I don’t know if I’ll make it out alive,” he said in the conversation, which was cut off by an explosion.

Yonatan was slain by a grenade thrown inside the shelter by Hamas terrorists. He was protecting his girlfriend with his body, and she managed to survive the attack and was later rescued.

After five days of searching, his family was informed that his body had been identified. His close friend – who he had attended the rave with –  Eliya Cohen, was kidnapped from a different shelter and is still held captive in Gaza.

Yonatan was buried in Jerusalem on October 11. He is survived by his mother, Linda, and his siblings Oshri, Tehila, Kfir and Daniel. His father, Yaakov, died of cancer when Yonatan was 7 years old.

Born and raised in the Nahlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem, Yonatan was the fourth-oldest in the family, attending local schools and growing up in the alleyways of the nearby Mahane Yehuda market, even working as a teenager in the local Marzipan bakery. He was also a devoted fan of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team and would never miss a game.

Yonatan’s father worked for the Netanyahu family as a driver for many years, and Yonatan was named after Yoni Netanyahu, the brother of Benjamin Netanyahu who was killed during the 1976 Operation Entebbe. Benzion Netanyahu, Benjamin’s father, was the sandak at Yonatan’s brit mila, according to a state eulogy, and the prime minister and his wife were both in attendance.

Sara Netanyahu paid a condolence call to the family, and said that “Yonatan was a marvelous and beautiful boy… a true friend of everyone. Even in his last hours, he bravely and heroically fought to save lives. I will always remember him, his smile, his love of life.”

After graduating high school, Yonatan served as a combat soldier in the Kfir Brigade, eventually becoming a deputy logistics commander of his company. After his release, Yonatan sought to enjoy life to the fullest, traveling abroad, attending festivals in Israel and overseas, including several trips to India, where he would always bring his favorite Marzipan rugelach with him.

“Yoni was a guy who loved life, loved festivals abroad,” his brother, Kfir, told a local Jerusalem news site. “For him, ‘a day that passes never returns.’ He loved to say that.”

Kfir said Yoni was a party animal, “and as his older brother I would tell him to focus, but he would always tell me… ‘let me enjoy a little bit longer, I’m young.’”

Yoni, he said, “was a man of faith, he loved religion and God. He was a happy guy… he always told us that life was short and this is the time to enjoy. He appreciated life in every moment, because he never knew what tomorrow would bring.”

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