Gadi Haggai, 73, a retired chef and jazz musician, was a father of four and grandfather of seven. A musician at heart and a gifted flutist, he was involved with music his whole life. Gadi was born in 1950 on Kibbutz Ein HaShofet and grew up in the kibbutz culture of Hashomer Hatzair. He served in the Shaked Patrol but quickly realized that wars and violence were far from his calling. He left the patrol base and became the first flutist in the IDF orchestra.
After spending several years in the United States, Gadi returned to the kibbutz and met Judi Weinstein, an American-Canadian volunteer. Judi only had to hear him play once to know they were meant for each other. Together they formed the jazz group Jazz Union and dreamed of a life built around music, art, and freedom.
When Gadi saw that he could not support his family as a jazz musician, he studied culinary arts at Tadmor. He worked as a chef in a Tel Aviv hotel, but the long hours left him little time with his family. When the chance came to become the chef at Kibbutz Nir Oz, he eagerly accepted. The family moved there happily, finding exactly the life they had imagined. Gadi and Judi complemented each other perfectly. He was playful and always dancing and laughing, while Judi worked for years as an English teacher and more recently brought mindfulness into her teaching to help children deal with the anxieties caused by the security situation in the Gaza Strip. Gadi loved roasting his own coffee beans and made the best coffee every morning.
On October 7, while on their daily morning walk in the fields near Kibbutz Nir Oz, Gadi and Judi lay face down as rockets rained down from Gaza. Judi called MDA and reported that terrorists on motorcycles passed by and shot Gadi. The terrorists later returned and murdered Judi as well. Hamas kidnapped their bodies to Gaza, where they remain. Gadi and Judi are survived by their four children and seven grandchildren who miss them deeply.
The information on this page is part of the 'Yizkor' commemoration project by the Ministry of Defense / the 'La'ad' website by the National Insurance Institute, in memory of the fallen. We strive for accuracy and apologize for any errors. For corrections or comments, please contact us here: https://aaciremembers.org/contact-us/ *
The correct name of Gadi’s kibbutz is Ein Ha’Shofet