Community mourns former St. Paul teacher killed in Hamas attack
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Friends are remembering a former St. Paul teacher who was killed in the terrorist attacks against Israel.
Hamas terrorists murdered Noi Maudi, a 29-year-old former teacher at the Jewish day school, Talmud Torah of St. Paul.
"Both of my children, they were in 1st and 3rd grade at the time, had Noi as their teacher," said Rebecca Noecker. "He was one of their very favorite teachers."
RELATED: Hundreds of Minnesota Jews call on Sen. Klobuchar to support cease-fire in Gaza
Noecker was the school's board president when Maudi taught.
She says he had a special way about him, connecting with the kids beyond the classroom.
"My son was really into the video game, Spyro, and Noi knew the exact way to get past the bad guy at this one particular level, so my son came home so excited to try that particular technique because Noi had suggested it," Noecker said.
Rabbi Yosi Gordon also teaches at the school and was a close family friend of Maudi.
"He was a treasure like you can't imagine," Gordon said. "The kids loved him. 'Can Noi come to class today? Can Noi teach us something?'"
Noecker's children stayed in touch when Maudi moved back to Israel a couple years ago.
He was one of the victims at a music festival where Hamas killed hundreds of people.
"He was truly wonderful," Gordon said. "He did things in education as a teacher that I learned from him, and I've been teaching for 65 years."
Noecker says Maudi's death hit her children hard, and it gives them a reason to learn more about the conflict.
"I've been trying to talk to my kids about how this is violence, as part of cycles of violence, that don't breed anything but hatred and don't lead to better outcomes, and hoping they can be a part of making the world better," Noecker said.
Maudi's brother-in-law was also killed in the attack.
Gordon says Maudi's teenage nephew went missing at the festival. They now fear he is being held hostage.