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Tributes paid to former JFS pupil, 24, killed in a car crash in Spain

Keren Brody moved to Spain in October to learn the language to pursue her 'dream career' as an interpreter

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A British Jewish woman who moved to Spain to learn the language has died following a car accident.

Keren Brody, 24, from Edgware, north west London, was killed while on a road trip with friends in Madrid on the weekend.

The former JFS pupil moved to Spain in October in order to learn the language to pursue her dream career as an interpreter.

Friends paid tribute to Ms Brody on social media.

One friend, who wished to remain anonymous, told the JC: “Anyone who spent five minutes with Keren will know how special she was.

“Her endless enthusiasm for the things that she loved was infectious and her trademark squeal of delight is the happiest sound I have ever known.”

Ms Brody, who has a older sister, was an avid reader who could “devour a book at superhuman speed," and was writing a novel, the friend said.

“She loved music, and has written roughly 200 songs. She loved to cook,” they added.

Ms Brody died after a bus collided with the car she was in. She was taken to hospital but died of her injuries on Sunday. 

Ms Brody was born in London after her family moved from Israel. She was a fan of Korean culture and  BTS, a seven-member South Korean boy band also known as the Bangtan Boys.

The friend said BTS had “lost their biggest fan”.

Her family asked for privacy while they make arrangements for her funeral in Israel but gave permission for her friends to pay tribute to her. 

The 24-year-old went to Sinai Primary School, and was described by those who knew her as someone who would make friends with anyone “who looked to her like they needed one”.

“People remember her as someone who always smiled at everyone in the corridors, who made them laugh during lessons, who was always sweet and kind,” a friend said.

Ms Brody worked in France for two years, before studying for a degree in French at the University of Warwick.

She was fluent in three languages and graduated in July with a first.

“She always did things at her own pace and in her own way,” a friend said.

“When life threw her a curveball, she would simply find another way. There was truly nothing she couldn’t handle. It is wildly unfair that a person with such potential, such zest for life, and who brightened the lives of those around her to such an extent, should be taken from the world before she had a chance to make her stamp on it.

“Words will never do justice to how much of a joy she was to be around. She was sharply intelligent, wonderfully sweet and she always made sure people knew that they were loved.”

Ms Brody is due to be laid to rest under a tree in Israel near where her grandmother is buried.

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