Two years after Yochai Avni, a prison service fighter and canine handler, was murdered in a terror attack at his home in Givon Hahadashah by a former inmate from the prison where he had served, his family is honoring him with a song written by his mother, Orly. The project was described in an interview with ynet’s studio, where his sister Nitzan said the song grew from grief, longing and love, and was meant to tell Yochai’s story and preserve his memory.
Nitzan Ivri said her mother wanted to convey who Yochai was, the spirit he carried and the path he walked. “The way for us to continue his path is really to memorialize him,” she said, adding that the family searched for people who could bring the words to life.
Singer and composer Ben Golan, together with Yotam and Gal Shahar, volunteered to produce the song and music video during the war. Nitzan said Golan composed and sang the track, while Yotam and Gal filmed and edited the clip, working amid rocket fire in Kiryat Shmona. Golan said he quickly felt deeply connected to the family and saw it as “a great privilege” to help leave behind something that memorializes Yochai in the best possible way.
Yotam Shahar said the team worked under a very short deadline, squeezing the filming and editing into whatever free time they had while raising two children. He said they kept improving the clip so it would be worthy of revealing Yochai’s story, and hoped it would reach as many people as possible.
The family is still waiting for a verdict in the case against the attacker. Nitzan said a significant hearing is scheduled for July 7, when the defendant will testify, and that each stage reopens the pain. She said they believe the case will end with the harshest possible punishment for the “murderous and satanic” attacker, who took Yochai, a man she described as extraordinary and someone who served Israel for 20 years.
