Eventually, the war comes to your door.
We had a shock in our family today. Naomi Shaanan, a remarkable person whom we’ve known since the late 70s, was killed by an Iranian missile that hit her seven story Beer Sheba apartment house, reducing it to rubble.
Naomi, who was 73, and three others died, hiding in the safe room of their apartment building. We are in shock.
A year ago, when the war was raging between Israel and Hamas, Naomi emailed me: “Hi Roger,” she wrote, “We are still here, frustrated as hell since we can’t get our dictator off our backs, devastated at the situation in Gaza, thankful for Prez. Biden’s care and hoping for improvement.”
On Tuesday morning, when the news broke that Beer Sheba was being bombed, I had a terrible feeling, especially looking at a gutted apartment house on the TV screen. I immediately emailed Naomi to make sure she was alright. When she didn’t answer, I got a terrible feeling that something was very wrong.
Naomi came from Israel to Connecticut in the late 70s as a foreign exchange student and lived with my family for some time while she attended the University of Bridgeport. I was away at college while she was in our house. My parents and younger brothers became enchanted with her, and she became the big sister. Later, as an adult, I really got to know her and came to appreciate her political commitment, bravery, and strength.
Naomi hated Netanyahu, whom she considered a warmonger. She was well known in Beer Sheba for her activism on behalf of the October 7th hostages. We’d like to think this was a random event, but it seems so focused. It doesn’t make sense. For years she was certain she was safe in Beer Sheba. But you’re not safe anywhere in a war. We are in tears. It’s really quite shocking when the distant headlines come lapping up at your own door.
We have other family and other friends in Israel, as do many. You convince yourself that nothing bad will happen to them. Naomi and my mother, who’s almost 91, spoke at least once a month. My mom was always begging her to come to America, but Israel was her home. Naomi’s friend in New York said to me tonight, “The safe room was lined with books. She always said she’d go there when something bad happened, and read, and wait.” We can only hope that’s the way her remarkable life ended. Naomi Shaanan will not be forgotten. Condolences to her brothers, friends, and comrades.
נעמי שאנן ז"ל, נרצחה הבוקר בביתה בבאר שבע במתקפה האיראנית
עמדה מדי יום בנחישות למען השבת החטופים, למען הפסקת המלחמה ושמירה על ערך חיי אדם באשר הם
יהי זכרה ברוך, יהי שובם מורשתה( תניא ציון וולדקס Tanya Zion-Waldoks) pic.twitter.com/vqixwanVat
— משנים כיוון (@change_dir_il) June 24, 2025
