Magda Baratz, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor, died on Friday, 15 days after her great-grandson Master Sgt. (res.) Asaf Cafri was killed in action in the Gaza Strip.
Cafri, 26, a tank driver in the 14th Armored Brigade’s 79th Battalion, was fatally shot by a Hamas sniper on April 24 while conducting operations in the Beit Hanoun area of northeastern Gaza. Three other Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack.
At the time of her great-grandson’s death, Baratz was participating in a March of the Living delegation in Germany, visiting the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp—where she had been imprisoned during the Holocaust. She also survived Auschwitz.
הלכה לעולמה מגדה (מלכה) ברץ, שורדת השואה שהתבשרה על נפילתו של נינה, רס"ר במיל' אסף כפרי ז"ל, בעת שהייתה בטקס יום הזיכרון לשואה בברגן בלזן pic.twitter.com/Iw5D2l6iVG
— שיר ביטון || shir bitton (@shirbitton_) May 11, 2025
A longtime resident of Kibbutz Givat Brenner, Baratz lost dozens of relatives during the Holocaust. Over the years, she spoke publicly about her experiences to help preserve the memory of the six million Jews murdered during World War II.
She is survived by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
