Shimi Ruimi was brutally murdered together with Alon Bakal by an Arab terrorist on January 1, 2016, while sitting with friends at a pub in Tel Aviv. Shimi was born in the Negev city of Ofakim, and in his memory, Shimi’s Garden was dedicated in KKL-JNF’s Ofakim Park.
“I hope to see this site flourish and bloom. I hope that everyone who visits here will be inspired by Shimi’s legacy. We need to be united and loving to each other, not to allow evil to penetrate. We have chosen life, and that is our revenge for Shimi’s murder.”
Iris Ruimi, the mother of Shimon (Shimi) Ruimi, who was murdered by an Arab terrorist at the beginning of January on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, was speaking on Wednesday, January 27, at the dedication ceremony of a garden in his memory in Ofakim Park. Shimi was born and raised in Ofakim, and along with family and friends, over 300 children from youth movements and the schools that Shimi attended participated in the ceremony.
Wednesday, January 27 was Shimi’s 31st birthday, and 31 trees were planted in his memory. Leah Fadida, KKL-JNF's national director of Tu Bishvat events, read aloud greetings from KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar:
“Everyone who knew Shimi described him as someone whom everybody loved.
He was killed for one reason only – because he was a Jew living in the land of Israel. Shimi loved life, and the trees planted here today symbolize life. The young saplings will grow and be witnesses to Shimi’s short but beautiful life.”
Itzik Danino, the Mayor of Ofakim, remembered that Shimi had a heart of gold. “He was a happy person who went with his friends to enjoy themselves in Tel Aviv, where evil triumphed over good. Too often we must pay a terrible price for the privilege of living in Israel. Today, however, we plant trees with a feeling of hope, remembering the love that Shimi radiated while he was alive.”
Ofakim Park, which extends over an area of about 125 acres, is situated to the east of the town of Ofakim, some twenty kilometers north west of Beersheba. It provides local residents with a large accessible recreation area, complete with lawns, hiking and biking trails, drinking water and toilet facilities. Two short signposted scenic trails lead visitors to interesting sites in the forest, the best known of which is the Patish Fortress.
KKL-JNF began planting Ofakim Forest in 1978 with the help of its Friends worldwide, and continues to develop it today as part of the park project, which has turned the site into a focal point for leisure, culture, recreational and sporting activities.
Shimi worked as a manager at the HOT telecommunications company. HOT Deputy CEO Amalia Zarka thanked KKL-JNF for organizing the event and for preparing the site in no time at all. “It is a great honor for Shimi, who was a chronic optimist and a pleasure to work with. There is such a feeling of sadness, of a life that was cut off in such an unlikely place, on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv.”
Before the ceremony began, officials from KKL-JNF’s Youth and Education Division led by Yoav Sa’ad organized educational activities for the children.
Yoav Simhi, Chairman of the Israel National Labor Federation, knew Shimi “as a true leader, someone who cared about all his co-workers. I am very touched to see how everything came together in record time to create this event. I am certain that KKL-JNF and the youth movements will bring many families and children to this beautiful site, where they will be inspired to continue building our national homeland in the land of Israel.”
MK David Amsalem, chairman of the Knesset Committee of the Interior, said the site that was chosen “is most appropriate for a person like Shimi, who was murdered simply because he was a Jew living in Israel. By planting trees we are making a statement that we will be here forever.”
KKL-JNF Israel Fundraising Director Michael Ben Abu emceed the ceremony and read a very moving and sad poem of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai.
At the end of the ceremony, Shimi’s family planted a tree while everyone solemnly sung Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem – “to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”