Zhanna Ruderman, 48: New immigrant from Belarus who loved the sea

Died on October 17 of wounds sustained in a rocket attack on Ashkelon

Zhanna Ruderman, 48, was killed by a rocket fired from Gaza in Ashkelon. She was seriously wounded in a rocket attack and died of her wounds on October 17.

A native of Minsk in Belarus, she is survived by her husband Gennady Ruderman and her three children, Ilya, Esther and Arkady.

Arkady was also wounded by the rocket, but recovered.

Friends said Ruderman loved the sea more than anything, and spent all her free time swimming or biking or walking along the promenade in the coastal city she called home.

On social media, she posted many photos at the beach and the marina, and others of her cycling with her family or by herself, as well as pictures with her husband and son, touring, traveling and attending events.

Her final Facebook photo was posted on October 6 in Ashkelon, a day before the war began, posing with a friend.

A relative, Liza Ruderman, shared a notice of her death on Facebook, writing: “Forever in our hearts.”

Her friend Shanee Witkow posted on Facebook to “my dear Zhanna, a rare woman who wanted to make aliyah less than a year ago out of true and real Zionism — to give a quiet and fair life to her son and husband. Rest in peace.”

On an Ashkelon memorial site, her daughter, Esther, wrote that her mother was “a role model for all those around her, a source of warmth and love and caring.”

“I never knew anybody who loved the country she lived in the way that she did,” Esther added. “She loved so much the sea, the beaches, the promenade, where they would spend weekends and all their free time… our mother was very hard working, she always found time for all of the family, we always called her ‘our hero,’ because she was always available for everyone and always ready to help.”