Last Friday morning, thousands gathered at intersections across the country, wearing pink shirts, accompanying the funeral procession of Inbar Hayman, whose body returned from captivity in Gaza earlier in the week. The funeral procession was from Rishon LeZion to the Yarkon Cemetery in Petah Tikva. Thousands also attended the funeral itself, dressed in pink and carrying pink flags and Israeli flags. Among the crowd were green scarves and shirts worn by fans of Maccabi Haifa, the team Hayman supported.
The funeral was also attended by the family of Guy Iluz, whose body was returned from Gaza earlier this week, and the family of the fallen and abducted Itay Chen, whose body still remains in Gaza. Politicians from both the coalition and the opposition attended as well, including Knesset members Eli Dallal, Pnina Tamano-Shata, Yariv Levin, and Gilad Kariv.
“My beautiful one, I never believed that after two years you’d come back to us,” eulogized her mother, Yifat Hayman. “We waited a month, and then another month, deal after deal. And in the end, you came back last, because that’s who you were, always helping others. You waited until all the people from Nova came home, and you’d be the last, my precious gemstone.”
“How does a mother say goodbye to her daughter after 27 years of raising her? How do you raise such a radiant, beautiful girl who always helps everyone? You even helped me. We’d sit for coffee, for our ‘mother time.’ We shared all our deepest secrets. You were my daughter, and also my best friend. Because of you, I made peace with your brother, and now we have the best relationship in the world.”
“There isn’t a single person who met you and wasn’t touched by you,” Yifat added. “Everyone tells me that. You were a child of nature and love, who saw the light in everyone. I made a vow on October 7th that you would come home. Now you’ve come back, and I can finally kiss your coffin and say goodbye.
Rest, my pink angel. I promise we will never forget you. We’ll always remember you whenever we see a pink sunset. I promise your headstone will be pink too.”
“How is a father supposed to eulogize his daughter, his child, it goes against nature,” said Haim, Inbar’s father. “Thank you for living on inside of me. You were a child of endless giving — of freedom, nature, light, and love. I remember our trips, the bike rides through the orchards behind the house, the little pigtails in your hair for kindergarten, your tight, tight hugs. No one warned us that we’d receive such a precious gift as you, and that it would only be for 27 years. If only I’d known, I would have made the most of every single second with you.”
Haim continues: “Even when you enlisted, you chose to become a combat soldier. You joined the Caracal Battalion as a fighter and a commander. Your big heart came from your strength and determination. You always saw the good in people. You filled the world with your creations, you painted it pink. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, to save you. I’m sorry it took us so long to bring you back.”
Inbar’s father thanked the soldiers who fought in Gaza and the public who stood with them in their struggle, noting that Inbar was the last female hostage to be returned from Gaza, and the last to be brought back among those abducted from the Nova Festival.
“That’s who you were, you always cared for everyone else before yourself. We will continue fighting to bring back all the fallen, now more than ever. Because when you bring back the fallen, you save their family’s life. I promise you, Inbar, I’ll come every day to be with you.”
“Beloved, precious, brave Inbar, the last female hostage to return to us,” eulogized President Isaac Herzog. “How could it be that a child of light, love, and goodness met such a cruel death? In what kind of world do parents have to yearn, through two terrible years, just for the chance to lay their beloved daughter to rest? And how did it come to this, that such a thing was done to us, here on the soil of Israel, in our own home?”
Herzog addressed Heymann’s parents: “I ask you, and of you Inbar, and all our fallen, our hostages, and their families, for forgiveness. Forgive us for not being there for you. Forgive us for not being able to save you. Forgive us that it took us so long to bring you back to us. Rest in peace, beloved Inbar. May it be His will that, as the Jewish month of Tishrei ends, the month of spirit and renewal, the rains in their season will bless your soil and grant you, at last, true rest, eternal rest.”
Brother of Inbar, Ido Hayman: "My heart was shattered and I live among the fragments"
“I haven’t seen you in over two years. I wanted to talk to you, so, hello,” began Noam Alon, Inbar Hayman’s partner, in his eulogy. “I’m going to speak to Inbar, if that’s okay. I’m so sorry this happened to you. No one deserves this, and especially not you. It’s hard for me to speak, especially here, with so many people who didn’t really know you. But you know, and I know, who you truly were. And that’s worth more than any story anyone has heard about Inbar.”
Alon continues: “Thank you for being in my life, for changing my life. I learned what it means to truly love, and it’s all because of you. I’m sorry I couldn’t have done something differently. I would have done anything. I wish you’d had a different ending. I’m sorry it took so long. It’s not just on me, it’s on our wonderful country too. I don’t want you to be remembered only for how you died. You were the most alive person in the world, and I’ll always remember you for your vitality — for who you were. You knew how to live better than anyone else.”
“My only sister. Every tear and laugh, every whisper and silence of yours is etched in my memory,” eulogized Ido Hayman, Inbar’s brother. “Like sunflowers turning toward the sun, we looked up to you in our family. And when darkness fell, we looked to each other. You always made sure I never missed a Friday evening at our parents’ house.”
“Because of you, I dare to explore and learn, if not the stars, then myself. I dream of you when I close my eyes. I see the messages you leave me: ‘Brother, grow.’ Because that’s what you taught me. Today we mark the pink in the sunset. Ravens are intelligent, family-oriented animals, now I understand why you chose them. My heart is shattered, and I live among the pieces, learning to heal. I talk about you endlessly.”
Adi Somekh, a friend of Hayman’s, sang a song she wrote in her memory:
“I felt that you were here beside me, surely you can be in more than one place. Even God made room for you, saving you a seat.”
Nur Shani Tehan, a friend of Hayman from the Tarbut youth movement, handed out gummy candies during the gathering.
“I asked myself yesterday what Inbar would have wanted to be here, so I brought a bag of gummy candies,” he eulogized. “Inbar didn’t see with her eyes, she saw heart to heart, and that’s how she entered everyone’s hearts. We spent our year of national service before the army together, sticking to each other all year long. It was one of the most wonderful years of my life.”
“I’m a trans man, and the reason I’m saying this is that Inbar was one of the first people in my life to make me feel whole. Your art echoed across the world. You became a symbol, and as friends, that feels a little strange, because to us, Inbar was the smiles and laughter. A living, charismatic person like a magnet. The least judgmental person in the world, who never counted what was cool and what wasn’t. I’m sure she sees everyone here and truly loves them. Her symbol will continue to light up the world. As friends, we wish it could be Inbar, the living, real Inbar, instead. But there is comfort in that too.”
Inbar Hayman was a multidisciplinary artist and a visual communications student at the University of Haifa. She was well-known in the street art community under the names Pink and Raven. Following her abduction, many artists in Israel and around the world spread the message “Free Pink” calling for her release.
From a young age, she was active in art and joined the Nahal Brigade through the Tarbut Youth Movement, which promotes art and educational activities in peripheral communities. Only after her body was returned this week did the family reveal that Hayman had served in the IDF as a commander in the Caracal mixed-gender combat battalion.
At the Nova Festival, Hayman attended in the role of “helper”, as part of a group of volunteers who offered emotional support and guidance to those in need. She hid under the stage when the attackers began their assault. Upon realizing there were assailants near the stage, she sought shelter.
After several hours, she was captured by Hamas militants in the orchards of Kibbutz Be’eri and abducted to the Gaza Strip. In mid-December 2023, about 71 days after her abduction, it was officially disclosed that Hayman had been killed on October 7, and her body was being held by Hamas. Her body was returned on Wednesday last week days ago, and her identification was completed on Thursday.
Her family emphasized that, following the recovery of the body of abducted Judy Weinstein in June, Hayman remained the last female hostage in Gaza.
