RON SHEMER
April 16, 2000 - October 7, 2023 | Age: 23
“I won’t leave my friends behind.”
About Ron
Ron was a promising young man whose life was guided by strong values, compassion, and a desire to make the world a better place.
At just 17, he became a “young ambassador,” representing the city of Lod and the State of Israel at the United Nations.
After finishing high school, Ron enlisted in the IDF and served as a platoon commander’s assistant in the Military Police’s checkpoint combat unit. Toward the end of his service, he contracted a bacterial infection in his heart. Despite this, he continued serving until he was officially recognized as a disabled IDF veteran and discharged.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ron worked at the MyHeritage laboratory. His colleagues remembered him as a true leader and friend: kind, empathetic, hardworking, and always the first to volunteer for additional tasks or help someone else.
His experience at the laboratory inspired him to pursue studies in genetic engineering. Ron dreamed of inventing something that would benefit humanity and help find cures for diseases considered incurable.
After the pandemic, he traveled to Camp Perlman in Pennsylvania, where he spent three months mentoring Jewish youth.
A Life Filled With Passion
Sports played an important role in Ron’s life. He embraced every opportunity to be active and enjoyed soccer, capoeira, Muay Thai, surfing, tennis, weightlifting, and footvolley.
Music Ron loved included “If There Is a Heaven” by Eyal Golan, “Love Yourz” by J. Cole, and “String Sound” by Eyal Golan.
Ron also had a deep love for animals, especially dogs, and above all, his family’s pit bull, Tyson.
He loved traveling with his family, watching Friday sunsets with friends, and photographing beautiful landscapes. By the age of 23, he had visited more than 50 countries. Wherever he went, he formed meaningful connections, often introducing the friends he met abroad to his friends in Israel.
His greatest passion was to continue exploring the world. He was always thinking of ways to create something that would benefit the world and humanity.
One particularly treasured family memory was a trip to Crete during the final year of Ron’s life, where the family spent joyful and meaningful time together.
Ron was intelligent, witty, funny, and humble. His kindness naturally drew people toward him. He was a devoted son, a loving brother, and a loyal friend with an extraordinarily generous heart.
Those closest to him were most proud of the good he did for others: his generosity, his kindness, and the way he was always there for everyone around him.
Ron loved the world and cared deeply for it. He constantly reminded others how beautiful and perfect the world could be.
The principle that guided his life was:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
His Final Moments
On October 7, 2023, Ron was at the Nova festival when the sirens began.
Friends who survived and were with him at the time recalled that Ron had an opportunity to leave the area and return home. Instead, he chose to go back into the festival grounds to search for the friends with whom he had arrived.
Despite repeated attempts to persuade him to save himself, Ron refused to abandon them.
“I won’t leave my friends behind.”
He told the others to drive away and assured them that he would follow later.
Ron searched for his friends, Dan Ariel and Omer Ben Nun. After finding them, the three drove together in search of shelter. They reached a bomb shelter at Gama West Junction, where they waited for the rocket fire to end.
At 6:39 a.m., they heard voices speaking Arabic outside. Ron told his friends to hide behind him and prepared to protect them from anyone who entered.
Three grenades were thrown into the shelter. Dan and Omer were wounded and collapsed to the ground. The terrorists then entered and took Ron from the shelter.
Omer, the sole survivor, later recalled hearing Ron fighting and resisting the terrorists outside.
Ron was believed to have been abducted. One week later, he was found approximately 50 metres behind the shelter, having been shot in the head.
Even in his final moments, Ron thought about protecting and saving others before himself.
Moments & memories
Fragments of a beautiful life, lovingly remembered.
His Legacy
Ron was laid to rest on October 13, 2023, in the new cemetery in his hometown of Lod. Thousands of people accompanied him on his final journey.
His mother, Sigal, who was one of the most significant people in his life, has since embarked on a journey to preserve and honour his memory.
Ron will forever be remembered for his courage, loyalty, humility, generosity, and boundless compassion. He was an angel inside and out, a source of light who gave wholeheartedly to his family, his friends, and the world around him.
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