Ayelet Godard
Ayelet was a valued educator and fighter for justice, who shaped generations of people and never stopped working for the nation and the country she so loved.
Ayelet was born in June, 1960, in Kfar Galim, the daughter of Rachel and Yosskeh Pereg. Yosskeh was one of the founders of Nakhbir (Be’eri’s original name). He died when Ayelet was three, and she and her sisters, Ruthie and Tami, moved with their mother to Kiryat Bialik, where they became a household of strong, determined women of action.
Ayelet was an active teenager and a counselor in the local Scouts group. That was where her skills as an educator first blossomed. Her love of people, nature and hiking led her to join the army as a tour guide at Har Ha’Negev Field School. During her service, Ayelet lived in Yamit, in the final years before it was evacuated. Along with her friends, she led tours of both young and old, new recruits and General Staff officers, taking them all over the region, from Sheikh Zuweid and Bardawil Lake in the northern Sinai Desert, to Ali Muntar Hill and the “potters district” in Gaza. She was attentive to the smells, tastes, traditions and stories. She acquired a huge amount of local knowledge, and was able to add context full of humanity to the country’s spectacular mosaic.
Her military service led her not only to encounter extraordinary places, but also to meet the love of her life. On one of her trips to the beach, she met Meni, Yamit’s good-looking, charismatic life guard, “the king of the beach.” They quickly became an item, “Meni-and-Ayelet,” and were married on the beach where they’d met. It was the last wedding in Yamit. The young couple wanted to live on the kibbutz, but Ayelet’s mother pressured her to acquire a vocation first. And so they moved to Tel Aviv. Meni worked as a lifeguard on Hilton Beach, and Ayelet studied special education and history at the Kibbutzim College. In 1983, their daughter Mor was born. Her name (Hebrew for ‘myrrh’) alludes to the Spice Route that Ayelet loved. After they moved back to the kibbutz, their children Gal and Bar were born.
While raising her family, Ayelet was also a legendary teacher at the school, where each graduating class has a name: Savyon, Ellah and Petel were the groups she taught. She was an exceptional teacher with traditional methods, who brought nature into the classroom and took the children outside frequently. In 1997, she was appointed principal of Nofim, the elementary school. Ayelet integrated the informal education network into the school, including a petting zoo. Everything she touched thrived. Upon moving to the regional school at Ma’aleh Ha’Bsor, she stepped into the role of supervising the “Shin-shin” program members (who commit to a year of community service before they enlist in the army) in the United Kibbutz Movement. In that capacity, she guided hundreds of young people through their year of service.
Over the years, Ayelet always managed to combine her great loves: family, friends, nature and good books. She went hiking whenever she could; more than her favorite pastime, it was a way of life. When the kids were grown, she set off on her big trip: she and her friend Edna travelled to India and Nepal, where she encountered the magnificent Himalaya mountains and the orphanages that operate in the region. She then informed her family that it was time for her own year of service. In 2005, Meni and Ayelet adopted their fourth child, Goni, a sensitive and captivating boy.
Ayelet was an exemplary mother and a beloved grandmother. She always came up with something personal and special for each child, whether an art project, an invitation to an activity, or dough for cookie-making. Her personal attention and ability to treat every person as an equal made Ayelet a professor of human relations. She displayed the same generosity and simplicity whether hosting kindergarten children or members of the “Valley Parliament” singing troupe. Together with Meni, she kept a home that was always open, buzzing with guests, children, grandchildren, adopted children, students, family and friends—a great number of friends.
Ayelet believed with all her heart in the kibbutz and its residents, and took an active part in the kibbutz life. She left her mark everywhere: on the children now grown; in the petting zoo; on the bike paths she helped plan; in the “shin-shin” communal housing she brought to Be’eri; in the cultural events she organized; in her faith that one can make a change and have an impact. She was driven by an inner fire, endless dedication, and a sense of purpose that knew no bounds.
On Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, she and Meni were murdered side by side, in the home they loved, on the kibbutz that was their home.
May her memory be a blessing.
