Efrat (Efi) Ungar (; October 10, 1971 – June 9, 1996) was an Israeli illustrator and writer of children's literature. Unger and her husband were killed in a shooting attack by Palestinians on June 9, 1996.

Biography

Efrat Ungar was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

to Judith and Rabbi Uri Dasberg. During her youth, her family moved to the Israeli settlement

Alon Shvut Alon Shvut () is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in June 1970 over lands confiscated from the nearby State of Palestine, Palestinian town of Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah. It is part of the Gush Etzion, Etzion bloc of the West Ban ...

located at the

Etzion bloc Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...

. Later, Efrat studied in the "Tzvia"

Ulpana Ulpana () is a girls-only Jewish_education#Jewish_schools, Jewish high school in Israel, delivering reinforcement of torah study, religious education and social activities, alongside Bagrut, the state curriculum. The ''Ulpana'' is to be found pr ...

and did

Sherut Leumi Sherut Leumi (, ) is an alternative voluntary form of national service in Israel, as opposed to the mandatory military conscription prevalent in the country. It is designed for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria for service in ...

(National Service) in

Afula Afula () is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...

. After her national service, Efrat studied at the Emunah College in Jerusalem, and was trained as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

. In 1993, Efrat married Yaron Ungar. The couple moved to

Kiryat Arba Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba () is an urban Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, in the southern Israeli-occupied West Bank. Founded in 1968, in it had a population of . The international community considers Israeli settlements in the ...

, where Yaron served as an educator at Yeshiva Kiryat Arba (ישיבה תיכונית קריית ארבע). The couple had two sons – Dvir and Yishai. For five years Unger worked as an illustrator and graphic designer in the children's section of the Israeli newspaper "

HaTzofe ''HaTzofe'' (, ''The Observer'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel. In April 2007, it was reduced to weekly publication until its closing over a year later. According to the paper's website, its point of view is Zionist, ...

", in which she regularly published a comics series.

Death

On June 9, 1996, Unger traveled with her husband and their baby son Yishai in the Kiryat Malachi –

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city council (Israel), city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named afte ...

road (Route 383). When they drove near Moshav

Gefen Gefen () is a moshav in central Israel. Located between Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established in 1955 by Jewish immig ...

, Palestinian gunmen shot the vehicle and fled. Both Efrat and her husband were killed in the attack. Their son survived the attack unharmed.Hezbollah Kills 5 Israeli Soldiers in Ambush in Lebanon – New York Times
/ref>

Aftermath

Efrat and Yaron were buried in the

Kfar Etzion Kfar Etzion (, ''lit.'' Etzion Village) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, organized as a religious kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank, established in 1927, depopulated in 1948 an ...

cemetery and their funeral was attended by thousands. In the site of the attack, a monument was erected, with the assistance of the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

, in memory of Efrat and Yaron Unger. Later on, a scholarship fund was established at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

in their names and in their memory. Efrat's two children, Dvir and Yishai, who were then one and two years old respectively, were transferred to the care of their maternal grandparents. In 2000, Efrat's family filed a lawsuit in a

U.S. federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

against

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

. In 2003, the court ruled that the Hamas and the Palestinian Authority were liable for damages totaling $116 million for the murder of the couple. The Palestinian Authority appealed the decision but the appeal was rejected. In 2008, the District Court in Jerusalem confirmed the ruling of the U.S. Federal Court and ruled that it would also be enforceable in Israel as well. Efrat's father, Rabbi Uri Dasberg, who in practice became the caregiver of Efrat's two children, was killed in a car accident in

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...

on May 24, 2011.

Her books

After her death, her family published her series of books: * Dvir (דביר) – the book was written after the birth of her son, and called his name. It was initially published entirely, while she was still alive, in the "

" newspaper. * Dr. Tetanus (דוקטור טטנוס) * Waiting for the Messiah (מחכים למשיח) * Ran HaRachfan (רן הרחפן) * Mouse Beware (עכבר היזהרה) – a short comic stories. In addition, Efrat's father Rabbi Uri Dasberg published the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

with illustrations made by Efrat.פרטי כותר – מגילת רות מאוירת בידי אפי אונגר הי"ד בתוספת פניני תורה ...שנלקטו ע"י אורי דסברג
/ref>

External links

Books published by Efrat Unger
– at the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

(Hebrew)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungar, Efrat 1971 births 1996 deaths Deaths by firearm in Israel Israeli children's writers Israeli women children's writers Israeli children's book illustrators Israeli women children's book illustrators Israeli comics artists Israeli comic strip cartoonists Israeli women cartoonists Israeli female comics artists Israeli graphic designers Israeli illustrators Israeli murder victims Israeli terrorism victims People from Alon Shvut Artists from Jerusalem People murdered in Israel