Area native’s remains recovered in Gaza
Goshen. A memorial service was held on June 7.
| 11 Jun 2025 | 11:35
The remains of Judi Weinstein, 70, and her husband Gadi Haggai, 73, were recovered in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces and returned to Israel June 5, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. The couple was murdered in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Weinstein, a native of Goshen, was shot along with her husband during a morning walk near their home Kibbutz Nir Oz when Hamas militants stormed across the border. Weinstein was able to call emergency services to let them know she and her husband had been shot and to send a message to her family.
Weinstein taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to youth who suffered from anxiety due to rocket fire from Gaza. Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician.
Chabad Goshen held a Saturday, June 7, memorial service for the couple. Rabbi Meir Borenstein said the couple’s burial site is in Israel.
“My beautiful parents have been freed,” wrote Iris Haggai Liniado, one of the couple’s daughters, on Facebook. “We have certainty.”
The couple are survived by two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said.