Help for the Troen - Mathias Children

Dear Friends and Community,

With tremendous sadness, we share the news that Shlomi and Shahar (Deborah) Mathias were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home on Kibbutz Holit on October 7. They died protecting their 16-year-old son Rotem, who was seriously wounded during the attack. Rotem miraculously survived by hiding for more than 12 hours, through repeated attempts by the terrorists to ensure there were no survivors in the house. Rotem’s sisters, Shir and Shaked, witnessed their parents’ deaths in real time through texts from Rotem. They only learned he had survived when they were rescued 14 hours later from their own hiding places.

Shlomi and Shahar were devoted parents, wonderful musicians, and passionate educators who believed in and advocated for coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. They were founders of the Hagar school in Beer Sheva, a joint Jewish-Muslim school, and leaders of the pro-democracy protests. We hope you will help us directly support Rotem, Shir, and Shaked as they move forward to live the lives their parents died to protect.

We have launched this fundraiser for friends, family, and the community to provide solace and support directly to the Mathias family in the difficult days ahead and for their future.

Your contribution will support immediate financial needs like trauma care, mental health support, education, housing (their kibbutz is no longer livable), and replacement of lost personal items. Further ahead, your support will help Rotem, Shir, and Shaked as they transition to adulthood, find jobs and living spaces, and God willing, build families of their own. For all their future milestones, when the absence of their parents’ emotional and financial support will be so painfully felt, your support will wrap them in love and provide a foundation.

Shlomi and Shahar were beloved souls who spread love and music in the world. If they were alive today, they would be organizing nights of music to strengthen and unify their communities and comfort us all. We pray that their belief in peace and coexistence will be a guiding light in these terrible days when so many, on both sides of the border, are suffering.

With heartfelt thanks for your compassion, caring, and support.

The Troen Family

This fundraising effort has been organized by Susan and Aron Troen, the children's cherished maternal aunt and uncle. All donations will be put into a fund managed by Susan and Aron.

To hear more of their story : https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/us/rotem-matias-teenager-hamas-attack/index.html