Diyaz Nurmanov

There are moments in life that, due to their tragic nature and bitter truth, are referred to as moments of truth. For the six nineteen- and twenty-year-old guys sitting around me, such a turning point was the death of their friend, Diaz Nurmanov. Or Danik, as they called the deceased. Ten days before his death, he, a soldier of the IDF, turned 21 years old.

Victor Komozdrazhnikov is a close friend of Diaz. Diaz and Victor repatriated together from Uzbekistan to Israel, and for a year they rented an apartment in Tel Aviv together.

On October 18, 1999, at 8:30 in the morning, we arrived in Israel from Tashkent, Victor recalls. — Diaz repatriated without his family. In Tashkent, he left behind his parents, an older brother, and a younger sister. Before leaving, he told his family that he wanted to test himself, to start an independent life. Diaz and I studied at the Tashkent yeshiva of the Chabad religious movement. Together we obtained a visa to enter Israel. Upon arrival, he went to visit friends from the yeshiva first in Afula, then in Safed. After some time, he continued his studies at a Hasidic yeshiva in Migdal HaEmek. He lived there for a year and a half, then moved to Tel Aviv. By that time, I was already renting an apartment in Tel Aviv. He moved in with me. We both got jobs at a security agency. Soon Diaz was drafted into the army. He managed to serve for thirty-two days. He hadn't completed the basic training course yet. He wanted to become an officer.

On June 1, he had his first leave. Our whole group agreed to meet on Friday evening to spend time at a disco on the promenade. The meeting was set for midnight. Diaz and I arrived a bit earlier. We just wanted to stroll along the promenade, chat, and sit in a pub. Near the "Dolphinarium," Diaz had a meeting with his girlfriend, Natasha. We approached, and Diaz asked me for my phone, dialed her number. Apparently, the phone was either off or busy. Diaz had to call back several times. Finally, he got through. While talking, he stood with his left side to the queue at the entrance to the disco, facing the "Bait Opera" building. To avoid interrupting the conversation, I stepped back a bit. Diaz shouted to me: "Vitya, wait, Natasha will be here soon!.." These were his last words. In the next moment, there was an explosion.

Vyacheslav, an IDF soldier and Diaz's partner at work as a security guard at the "Dizengoff Center":

— Together with Diaz, we planned a trip to Moscow. We wanted to spend a week there first, and then go to Tashkent. We went together to sort out the travel-related issues at the "Idud" bank. Diaz missed his family very much. His father is seriously ill. Diaz constantly worried about him.

I have never heard Diaz say a bad word about anyone. In general, he was a modest, friendly guy. It seemed he was grateful for every day life gave him. But it turned out there were very few of them...

Tanya, Victor Komozdrazhnikov's sister:

— I still can't believe that Diaz is gone. It seems that the door will open and he will walk into the apartment. We will sit together again, sharing our little secrets. Before, war was far away for me. I only learned about it from the news program. What was happening did not affect my family. And now I am scared...

Daniil Davidzon. Special Issue "News"