One of the 11 Americans who tragically died in the recent Hamas attack on Israel has been identified as academic Hayim Katsman, 32, from Seattle. He was in the middle of his studies when he sought refuge in a kibbutz closet near the border with the Gaza Strip, only to encounter terrorists who ended his life.
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Katsman He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in 2021 and has resided in Holit, where she conducted research, the Seattle Times reported.
CWJ is devastated by the loss of Hayim Katsman z”l, beloved son of Hannah Katsman @mominiisrael, CWJ resource development coordinator. Hayim was murdered by terrorists in his home in Kibbutz Holit. Our deepest prayers are with Hannah and her family at this unimaginably difficult time. pic.twitter.com/PtB0rxvapv
— Center for Women’s Justice (@cwjisrael) October 8, 2023
Hanna Katsman, his mother, revealed to ABC News that her initial concern was that her son had been kidnapped.
However, he later learned that he had fallen victim to the invading terrorists in the early hours of Saturday.
“I’ve received so many messages from people who worked with Hayim, knew him, or met him during their travels about how warm and open he was.” he told the outlet.
“He was a very tolerant person and a very loyal friend. He had a good sense of humor. He took things calmly.”
I lost my dear friend @hkatsman yesterday. A scholar of religious nationalism in Israel and Palestine, he was carried away by the same force about which he passionately researched and wrote. Sharing our pain over the death of Hayim Katsman in Israel https://t.co/JMdCbHqgJ6 pic.twitter.com/tVS4Xv6bJR
— sauharda rai (@sauhardarai) October 10, 2023
Avital Alajem, a friend and neighbor, was with Katsman in a closet when the terrorists entered and shot him.
However, she was unharmed. Alajem believes Katsman saved her life before she was kidnapped and taken to Gaza, along with two children. Fortunately, they were eventually released, as she shared during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
My dear friend Hayim Katsman, young and brilliant scholar, is gone, just gone 💔. pic.twitter.com/LT2f01s0q7
— Carmit Wolberg (@Carmit) October 8, 2023
“Hayim in Hebrew is ‘life’. That’s the meaning of his name. And he gave life to this planet while he saved me, and I was able to save two children.” she said.
Katsman lived in Petah Tikva before moving to the kibbutz.
His friends and professors at the University of Washington remembered him as compassionate. His dissertation, which explored religious Zionism in Israel, was dedicated to all life in the region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
His former roommate and classmate, Francis Abugbilla, fondly described Katsman as a kind-hearted person.
“On Saturday morning I texted him: ‘Hi Hayim, I hope you are doing well amid the current situation.'” he told the outlet. “He read it, but I didn’t get a response from him.”
A companion later told Abugbilla that Katsman had died.
“To me it’s like a dream. I can’t believe we’ve lost such an excellent scholar… who was there to make the world a better place for everyone.” he said. “He was always someone who would fight for the underprivileged. In order for us to preserve his memory, we must all live up to what he stood for.” Abugbilla added.
Charlie-Moshé Elias, who crossed paths with Katsman during his time in the Jewish studies program at the University of Washington, shared that the academic had been an advocate for peace in the region and had offered criticism of the Israeli government.
Liora Halperin, a University of Washington professor specializing in international studies and history and also a member of Katsman’s thesis committee, relayed to the news source that “Their work helps illuminate some of the dynamics that have brought us to this moment.”
In 2020, Katsman received the Baruch Kimmerling Prize for best graduate work from the Association for Israel Studies, as noted on the University of Washington website.
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“He was really committed to the issues that matter in Israel and in the Israel/Palestine space.” Halperin said. “To lose someone who not only acted to promote a better society but also dedicated his academic life to studying the place he lived in is obviously tragic.”
Another professor at the University of Washington, James Wellman, shared with KOMO News that Katsman “He was a young boy and he had his whole world waiting for him, and even now I can’t believe it. “The fact that they killed this wonderful human being who had no malice towards either party, he was a beautiful human being.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn