Rachel Levy was born in Israel in 1984, and spent her early years in Los Angeles, California, returning to Israel at the age of 9. She was somewhat reserved and a good student. At home she was close to her family, enjoyed being a big sister to her brother Koby and helping her mother Avigail. Rachel was a senior at Ziv high school in Jerusalem and like other Israeli teenagers she was no stranger to the ongoing tensions of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Less then a month before her death, a Palestinian sniper had shot and killed a relative, bringing the conflict even closer to home. Like most 18-year-old Israelis, Rachel was about to join the army. Her future plans included the study of art and design. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to fulfill any of her dreams.