Moshe Ridler, H’yd, a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Holit on October 7th along with his caregiver, Pietro Bosco from Moldova.
Ridler, z’l, born in Romania in 1931, was nine years old when World War II began, Ynet reported.
His grandson Mashav Ridler told Ynet: “They took him with his mother and sister to a camp in Transnistria. His father and older sister were sent to a labor camp. His mother and sister died from typhus inside the camp, and at the age of 11, he managed to escape the camp with a group of other boys.”
“He told us he never stopped running, and what he remembers is waking up with a family in a small town in Ukraine and living with them during the war,” he added. “He became a shepherd and helped them with their farm work. When he heard that Jews were returning to the town and the war had ended, he was sitting on the steps of the shul and suddenly his father appeared in front of him. He was certain his father was dead. Later, he also reunited with his older sister.”
Ridler, z’l, who moved to the kibbutz five years ago to be closer to his family, was the oldest man on the kibbutz.
On the morning of October 7, Ridler was at his home with his caretaker. “We heard something was going on in southern Israel, and we have family members there, so we began writing each other in our group chat,” Mashav said.
“We called his caregiver at 7:20 a.m., and he hadn’t quite realized what was happening yet. They were quite used to rocket barrages and knew how to get to a safe room, but at this point, we didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening. After that call, we couldn’t reach them anymore.”
“At first, we couldn’t understand why they weren’t answering,” another grandson, Amir Tessler, said. “As the hours passed, we were growing increasingly frightened. Our aunt was in touch with the kibbutz residents and received horrifying descriptions of what happened there. At 11:15 p.m., she was informed they were found dead in their house. To this day, we don’t really know what happened there.”
“He was the oldest man on the kibbutz,” Tessler said. “From the moment he moved there, he was loved by everyone, everyone knew about his sense of humor.”
“He was a Saba to everyone on the kibbutz, but also our Saba. When I was young, he took care of everything. He used to drive us places and come in the mornings and bring us breakfast from the bakery. Over the years, age took its toll, but even then, you would never guess how old he was. With his love for family and life, he continued to give us a lot of strength even when he was past 90.”
“We were blessed with the best Saba we could have asked for. Even after his death, we can laugh together, cry together, and hug each other. We want him to be remembered not for the way he died, but for the life he brought to every place he was in. That’s Saba’s legacy – to go through everything he did, and still manage to give us strength.”
Etti Farhi, the director of the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims, lamented Ridler’s murder, saying, “Instead of aging with dignity, Moshe was murdered in cold blood. We at the foundation are appalled by the terrible cruelty that befell him once again.”
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