Immigrant from Livingston dies on hike in Israel
Yair Shapiro moved to Ra'anana in his youth
A 40-year-old hiker who fell to his death April 7 while hiking near the Dead Sea was originally from Livingston.
Yair Shapiro, who grew up in Ra’anana and was living in Jerusalem, was buried on Wednesday evening at Kfar Nachman Cemetery in Ra’anana, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Shapiro was touring Nahal Og, near the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert, when he fell from a trail along a 50-meter cliff into the valley below, the Post reported. Volunteer rescue teams were called to the scene only to pronounce his death.
According to Shapiro’s LinkedIn profile, he was a historical research analyst working at Jerusalem’s Van Leer Institute. He held a master’s degree in Contemporary Jewry and a bachelor of arts degree in General History and History of the Jewish People, both from The Hebrew University.
A friend on social media described him as “always friendly, always smiling.”
“On our hike yesterday, we tragically lost our dear friend, Yair, a wonderful, sweet, good spirited man of goodness who only had lots of love for his family, friends, and everyone around him,” a friend shared on Facebook.
Another friend described Shapiro as a “friendly, intelligent guy, an academic who loved to discuss history and more, and never got to marry and set up his own family.”
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