Sergeant Shay Ashram

Daughter of Sarah and Dror
Sister of Arel (41 years old), Tehila (37 years old), and Shachar (26 years old)

Shay was born into a warm and large family, the youngest daughter to her parents, a fourth sister to Arel, Tehila and Shachar, and the youngest granddaughter of her maternal grandmother. Shay has ten nephews, the oldest of whom is 16 and the youngest is one year old, and about thirty cousins, which were her best friends.

Shay grew up in Rehovot. She attended the Weizman Elementary School and graduated from junior high and high school at the six-year Aharon Katzir Kiryat Hinuch School.

Shay was a hard worker, attended the gym regularly and worked at the local pizzeria for about three years from the age of 16 until she enlisted in the army.

In her free time, she loved to spend time with her friends and especially with her cousins.

Shay joined the IDF on January 24, 2023, as a field observer. At first, she had strong reservations from the position and began the bureaucratic processes necessary to leave this role. But meanwhile, unexpected developments occurred, she fell in love with the field observer role during her course. Her commanders told that she stood out in the course thanks to the high motivation for the role she developed, and thanks to the sense of higher calling that accompanied her.

Shortly after finishing the field observers' course, the army informed her that they have managed to get a transfer for her, as she requested, and that she had to leave the training track. Shay decided to fight this decision and after many efforts and persuasion, the army agreed to her request and left her on track. This despite the fact that she had an exemption due to a lumbar medical condition.

Shay was assigned to the Nahal Oz outpost in April 2023. She was supposed to go to a squad leader course in August 2023, but she preferred to stay in the operations room in order to get to know the sector better. The army thought otherwise and insisted that Shay will go to the course at the appointed time. Once again Shay found herself struggling with the army's decision taken for her. Thanks to her strong and assertive character, she again managed to get what she wanted and her placement in the squad leader course was postponed to November 2023.

Her army companions tell that Shay was friendly and had a mesmerizing character, dominant and a leader. She fulfilled her role properly and did everything necessary to protect the sector under her responsibility. She participated in many operations and with her professionalism prevented a large number of terrorists from infiltrating the territory of Israel and harming civilians. In doing so, she made her contribution to the army's effort to allow the residents of the Gaza Envelope a normal and peaceful way of life.

Shay's commanders recognized that she is a professional and an exemplary soldier, and they integrated her into the prestigious "Hanit" track that prepares outstanding trainees in the observer courses for the command and officer track.

Shay was supposed to go to the commanders course a week after her fall.

On the "Black Sabbath" on October 7, 2023, Shay was supposed to go on duty at 06:30 in the morning, exactly when the mortar barrage began. Shay did not have time to go on duty.

Channel 13 covered Shay's events in her last hours. The channel's investigation revealed that she called her parents at 06:30 in the morning and informed them about what was happening at the base. She begged her parents to go to the bomb shelter and tried with all her might to clarify the magnitude of the situation. She said: ""Mom, you don't understand what I'm talking about, they're coming down on us with drones, the whole base is flooded with terrorists... Mom, I love you, promise me that you'll take care of yourselves."" That's how the first conversation with Shay ended. Later in the morning she managed to hold several more conversations with her family members. At 07:30 in the morning she had a conversation with her parents that would turn out to be her last conversation with them.
In this conversation she asked her mother to tell everyone that she loves them, she stated that her parents are the best there is and asked that they take care of her brothers and sisters. During the talks with Shay, the terrorists' shots were heard from the base.

The last message she sent to her cousin at 07:42.
Shay also had time to call her best friend. She said goodbye to her and told her that this is their last conversation.

Shay fell at the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7, 2023, while she was in a shelter.

Shay had a unique character, "spicy" and witty. Wherever she went, she was like a ray of light, making herself present in the room, making her voice heard. She was stubborn and opinionated, always stood her ground, and strove to achieve her goals.

At the Weizmann school they said: "She was a beloved student, full of grace and vitality, active and brightening up her surroundings. She was dominant in student leadership and social activities, and her social work at school was from a real place of caring and giving."
Rehovot website.

Shay loved music and attending live concerts, especially by one of Israel's most popular singer, Eyal Golan. After her fall, her family found a real surprise on her cell phone - Shay used to take videos of herself in her room singing. She didn't share this hobby with them, and they only discovered it after she fell.

After the fall of the late Shay and Oren Alfasi, the Rehovot municipality published a message on the municipality's Instagram page: "The the city of Rehovot family is in pain and mourns the loss of Sergeant Shay Ashram and the late Oren Alfasi, may they rest in peace. We embrace the families, share their heavy loss, and send our condolences from the bottom of our hearts."

A month after the terrorist attack, on November 7, 2023, the Katzir school held a memorial rally in the school's auditorium in memory of Shay and those who fell in the Iron Swords War.

On March 5, 2024, the ceremony of placing a Torah scroll in Shay's memory was held at the Karwani Synagogue in Rehovot with many participants.

On March 10, 2024, at the Weizman School, a ceremony was held for the initiation of the "Anemone Garden" in memory of Shay and those murdered on the "Black Sabbath". The garden establishment process took months and included making clay anemones and teaching the students Shay's personal story. link.

Rehovot Municipality and its social corporation held a sports event in solidarity with the hostages and in memory of the fallen under the sign "You will never walk alone" on February 23, 2024, in the city's Citrus Park. The purpose of the event was to commemorate the fallen and the murdered and to raise awareness for the hostages' return. Shay was among the fallen who were commemorated in this event.

This commemorative page was compiled using materials from the links indicated above as well as materials published in Rehovot News.