Tel Aviv terror victim Chen Amir mourned by his family

The family of Chen Amir, the Tel Aviv city inspector murdered after he was mortally wounded in the shooting attack in Tel Aviv, is struggling to come to grips with his death, according to an interview between the family members and the Hebrew media outlet Maariv.

Amir’s father and sister spoke about the victim’s background and who he was as a person.

He was “the hero of Israel. He took all the bullets. It was very typical of him. In every event he participated in, he was always on edge, always striving for contact,” Amir’s sister, Adia Cohen, said of her brother. “He was also a combat fighter [and] his will was to donate his organs,” she added.

Cohen also wanted to express the multidimensionality of her late brother.

“Chen was a gentle, very modest person. He grew up here in the kibbutz, [and] he had a group that surrounded him,” she said. Upon reaching the age of enlistment, he joined the army, and not long after that he got married and started a family. He has “three daughters of kindergarten and elementary age,” she said.

Flowers and memorial candles are seen on a bench in Tel Aviv in memory of city inspector Chen Amir, who was killed the previous night in a terrorist attack, on August 6, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

“Chen was a gentle, very modest person. He grew up here in the kibbutz, [and] he had a group that surrounded him.”

Adia Cohen

“He was always at the top, wanting to protect civilians,” she added, “on Saturday morning he insisted on visiting us. He brought us gifts. He wasn’t supposed to come but he really wanted to.”

Chen’s father reflects

Shabtai Amir, Chen’s father, said that his son “was humble, helping people. On Saturday morning, he came and surprised us, came to visit. He came happy and kind-hearted. Everyone loved him so much. For me, he was really an angel.”

The terrorist, Kamal Abu Bakr, shot at Amir from short range, mortally wounding him. He was evacuated to the Ichilov Hospital during resuscitation operations, and after a short time, the doctors pronounced him dead.

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