When she was 17 , Elmakiyes moved to Tel Aviv , to live with her older sister , and began working in a shop near Dizengoff Center . One day in 1994 , while waiting in line at the ATM , a bomb went off , and Elmakiyes was thrown back several meters . It was the Dizengoff Center suicide bombing , a suicide terrorist attack , in which 14 people were killed and over 120 wounded . Elmakiyes was lightly wounded , but suffered extreme trauma from the experience and what she witnessed . Her rehabilitation took several years , also releasing her from mandatory military service . She says , " It was a complicated time , which took me far off the normal path . I was n't severely wounded , but seeing children explode before your eyes is an indescribable horror . I will never forget it , these are things that stay with you for life . " It was only after she completed rehabilitation that she was able to pursue her education . In addition to her degree in filmmaking , Elmakiyes completed several other courses in the arts , including learning to be a medical clown
Dizengoff Center suicide bombing
Dizengoff Center suicide bombing
Carmen Elmakiyes