Home Scandal and Gossip Holocaust survivor becomes Israel first coronavirus fatal casualty

Holocaust survivor becomes Israel first coronavirus fatal casualty

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Arie Even coronavirus death
Arie Even coronavirus death. Photo via Facebook.
Arie Even coronavirus death
Arie Even coronavirus death. Photo via Facebook.

Arie Even Coronavirus death: 88-year-old Holocaust survivor from Jerusalem is Israel’s first COVID-19 fatality. Had been staying at assisted living facility.

An 88-year-old Holocaust survivor suffering from coronavirus has became the first person in Israel to die from the pandemic illness which continues to sweep the world.

Arie Even, who immigrated to Israel from Hungary in 1949, contracted the virus while staying in an assisted living facility in Jerusalem where several of the residents have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Haaretz.

‘He was a beloved and dear man, lived a full life, was dedicated to his family, and showed strength until his very last moments,’ his son said in a statement to Haaretz.

‘We lament that he had to spend his last moment without his family by his side. We would like to thank the medical staff at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for their devoted treatment and the empathy they demonstrated.’

Even died after going into cardiac arrest at Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Saturday. He had been transported there in critical condition about a week earlier.

Even’s children spoke with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, and said he had several other close calls during his life — including fleeing a cholera outbreak in Spain and surviving several heart attacks. His daughter said ‘humanism was in his DNA,’ and he was concerned about the treatment of Palestinians.

‘He always spoke about Israeli responsibility.’ His daughter said their father ‘believed profoundly in equality, in civil rights. He believed that this land belonged to all of its citizens.’

Even’s wife, Yona, died in 2012.

Even is survived by four children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

More than 1,200 people have contracted the virus in Israel, with about two dozen listed in critical condition. Israelis are required to stay at home, with some exceptions.

The illness has infected 339,000 people worldwide. At least 14,700 people have died.

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