Matan Rosenberg, 17, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Psyduck music festival on October 7 near Kibbutz Nirim.
Rosenberg, a high school senior from Dimona, was active in his local scout troup. He went to the trance music party with three of his uncles, two of whom were also slain: Noi Maudi and Moti Elkabetz.
He is survived by his parents, Shani and Yitzhak and two younger brothers.
His aunt Lital Rosenberg, who lives in California, told a local news site that he loved to play soccer, had lots of friends and loved music: “He went to this, you know, music festival, which was all about peace and love and happiness and everybody together.”
On his gravestone, his family engraved piano keys, expressing his love for music, and an acrostic with his name in Hebrew, memorializing him as “A gift God sent to us, with unique golden curls and a soul that touched everyone.”
“Matan, the beautiful redhead, taken before his time at just 17.5, loved to play music, to sing, to celebrate life,” the memorial on his gravestone also reads. “You will always stay in our hearts, our beloved child.”
His friend, Talya Shukrun, described him on Instagram as “an angel child, there is no person who did not love him and there is no person that Matan did not love. Matan was an avid scout and gave his all for his tribe and his young charges… Beyond being a good person, he was a good friend, a supportive and loving friend who would always listen to you and answer any question you may have.”
Yarin Ben Mergi, who knew Matan from scouts, memorialized him in a Facebook post.
“I want everyone to remember your real smile, your good-heartedness, the pure and good soul you were,” she wrote. “You were and will always be my strength, my reason to be happy — the beautiful redhead with the captivating smile. I am a fan of yours, I appreciate who you were and what you were — a golden child, who would never harm a fly.”
His mother, Shani, wrote on Facebook, “Matan, my oldest son, our beloved, you will be missed forever. Everybody loved you.”
She later recalled him as “our talented Matan, anytime you saw a piano you had to play it and impress those around you… Music was in your soul and will always stay there.”
