Haifa railway station named after Katyusha victims

Israel Railways announced Sunday that the Haifa central railway station will be renamed after the eight railway employees who were killed when a Katyusha rocket hit a train depot in the city during the Second Lebanon War.

The dedication ceremony for the station, which will be renamed 'Haifa Central – The Eight', will take place on the anniversary of their deaths on July 16.

Israel Railways made the decision to rename the central station following talks and meetings with the victims' families.

Meshulam Damti, the father of Asael who was killed by the Katyusha, was one of the advocates of the idea.

"It's a small ray of," he told Ynet on Sunday evening. "It will constantly remind people of the fallen."

Damti added that in addition to renaming the station after the victims, a book will be published in their memory. Two pages will be dedicated to each victim and will include his life story, memories and photographs.

This year's Memorial Day – the first one since the war – is particularly difficult for Damti.

"We went up to the grave this afternoon. Many of his friends came, although it was not organized. We decided that the family would go up to the grave, and the friends who heard about it passed the message to each other. Eventually about 100 people arrived from different places in Israel, like Jerusalem and Yavne. It was very difficult for me," he said.

Several months after his death, Asael's son was born. Alongside the joy over his grandson's birth, the event was even more difficult for Meshulam Damti.

"He left us with a 1-year-old baby girl and a 2-month pregnant wife," Meshulam said. "A few days before he was killed, he secretly told me he thought his wife was pregnant. The Brit took place a month ago and was filled with sadness and happiness, all mixed up."

Memorial service following rocket attack (Photo: Israel Railways)

Meshulam was slightly upset by the decision to define civilians killed during the war as terror victims instead of as fallen IDF soldiers.

"It's true that I am still new in this bereavement business, and still studying the issue, but I would like to see them have the same status as soldiers killed. They were killed during the war, and there should be no difference between soldiers killed and civilians," he said.

Shmuel Ben-Shimon was also at the train depot on that fatal morning, and his name will also appear on the memorial wall at the station.

His sister, Osnat, expressed her satisfaction over the Israel Railway's decision to rename the station after the victims, but added that she was unsatisfied with the chosen station.

Moment after Katyusha hit train depot (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

She explained that it was a far-fling station and suggested an alternative: "I believe the Carmel railway station will have a better effect than the central station, which is a transfer station. The Carmel station also has a promenade, where people can stop and remember everything that happened."

"This Memorial Day is one of the most difficult ones I've had," Osnat added. "It's difficult to talk about the country, about the homeland, about 'I have no other land,' when on the other hand we have lost a loved one."

Zohar Levi, the mother of Reuven, another employee who was killed by the Katyusha at the train depot, expressed her satisfaction over the decision to rename the station after her son. She added, however, that she was slightly disappointed.

"We hoped that ahead of Memorial Day, Israel Railways will hold an event in memory of the victims. We deserve something like that in order for us to feel it, but they didn’t do anything and it's a shame," she said.