Yonatan ‘Johnny’ Zeidman, 26: Nicknamed the ‘genius’ of friend group
Murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to escape the Supernova music festival on October 7
Yonatan “Johnny” Zeidman, 26, from Tel Aviv, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.
He attended the rave with two friends, Ilai Baram and Liam Shrem, and all three were murdered while trying to escape the festival, after they were ambushed by Hamas terrorists along the highway near Sderot.
Yonatan was buried in Netanya on October 13. He is survived by his parents, Orit and Daniel, and his sister, Liron.
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Yonatan was active in a local scout troop during high school. After graduating, he enlisted in the IDF and served in its International Cooperation Division.
After completing his mandatory service, Yonatan enrolled in a special honors program at Tel Aviv University, completing a degree in philosophy, economics and political science. During his degree, he volunteered with the Maccabi Football Club’s Brothers 1906 organization, where he tutored many youths who played for and were fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team. He was a huge soccer fan who even traveled to attend the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
He was also interested in cinema, art, music and philosophy and was very knowledgeable in those and other subjects, according to a state eulogy. His family said he had a promising future, and that he was planning to begin his master’s degree at Harvard University.
At his funeral, Liron said that Yonatan was “the most amazing gift I could have gotten” from their parents.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to see the world through your celebrating eyes and your ambitions. You were so good in so many ways, varied and special. In almost every room, you were the sharpest, coolest, most special, nerdiest, most fun, most sensitive, best-looking, and most tattooed person. You were always the center of every room, loving and connecting people.”
Yonatan’s family told Ynet that “Yonatan was a little of everything.”
“He was always the sharpest guy in the room, who was nicknamed the ‘genius’ by his friends and always knew the answer,” they said. “But he was also a good listener, supporter, and real friend. He had an addictive presence that lit up the whole room and charmed even the hardest and most apathetic people. He dreamed and reached as high as he could, managed to achieve everything he wanted in his short life, and pulled his friends along with him.”
