Yuval Ben Yehuda, 26: Dog lover was ‘the sun and the light’

Yuval Ben Yehuda, 26, from Ramat Gan, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Psyduck music festival on October 7.

Her mother Orly said Yuval waited until she was asleep to head out to the festival, because she knew that her mother wouldn’t approve. The next morning, Orly tried to call and couldn’t reach Yuval.

The family searched for her for several days, until they were informed that her body had been identified. Yuval was buried on October 10 in Pardesiya.

She is survived by her mother, Orly, and her older siblings Orel and Shalev. She was predeceased by her father, Yair.

Her friend Inbar Aviad told the Kan public broadcaster, “Yuval was like a sister and family to me and so many other people who loved her. She is missed by so many people. Yuval loved animals of all types, and dreamed of studying canine-assisted therapy.”

In a post online, her family described her as “loving to dance and sing and living for karaoke nights. She really loved to travel, saw music festivals as a symbol of freedom and release and love and a source of happiness. She was the heart of every event, the first to get up on the table and boost the mood. She was the sun and the light for so many people.”

Mother Orly told Ynet a month later that she was still waiting “for her to open the door, give me a kiss and tell me ‘Mom, don’t worry, there will be better days.'”

Yuval, she said, “was the light of this house, she brought happiness and love. She taught me how to dance. She loved animals and she planned to open a dog grooming salon — she was working in a bakery to save money for this.”

Her sister, Orel, told a local news site that Yuval “was a ball of energy in the house, full of joy, already from a young age she would see the distress of others and make their voices heard.” During the shiva mourning period, Orel said, “all her friends shared how she would always know how to raise morale and make people happy.”

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