Algamis, Yaakov (Kobi)
Son of Miriam and Joseph. He was born on September 21, 1976 in Jerusalem. The eldest son of his parents, and the brother of David and Lilach. Kobi began his studies at the Talpiot East B Elementary School in the city and continues at the Seligsberg High School in Electronics, and throughout his studies, his achievements were beautiful and his grades were good. Kobi liked to watch basketball and soccer games: he was proficient in the NBA and did not miss the Beitar Jerusalem games. Kobi, a quiet, modest boy, with a shy smile always decorating his face, was always accompanied by good friends. Over the years he maintained close ties with a wide circle of friends, childhood friends and friends from later periods, who went with him a long way. Koby’s high motivation for military service was evident during his studies. In the yearbook, at the end of his high school studies, he wrote: “Koby is a quiet guy, in an unobserved class. The General Staff wants to come and believe me, he will be surprised …” Koby’s original recruitment date was postponed because of his desire to enlist in Sayeret Matkal. After long waiting months, at the end of March 1995, he was drafted into the army and was assigned to the Givati Brigade in the Rotem Battalion. From the beginning Kobi was a dedicated and motivated soldier. The exhausting infantry course, during which he served as a lieutenant colonel, ended as an outstanding soldier. At the end of the course, Kobi left for a course for squad commanders and was assigned to a training unit at the field corps headquarters. He served as a recruits in a variety of positions at Adam and Camp 80, but this was not his satisfaction, and he firmly believed in the right to defend the security of the country and the northern border communities. Kobi fought stubbornly to return to serve in Lebanon, and when he refused to accept his sentence, he was sent to the military prison, and in March 1997 his efforts bore fruit: he joined the Rotem Battalion and the company that controlled the Bint position Jbeil in Lebanon. Kobi took part in the activities that led the battalion’s work in the security sector in south Lebanon. In the company, he performed with remarkable professionalism everything he had been given. He took part in difficult and complex tasks, which required great responsibility. Kobi was admired and accepted by his commanders and comrades. He stood out in the calmness and seriousness with which he coped with the company’s tense routine. The reassuring smile, his generosity, and the support he gave his friends in difficult times were his trademark. Kobi gave up on going to the officers’ course so that he could be discharged from the army in time for the start of his service in the General Security Service. During his last vacation he shared with his family his plans to travel with his release to watch the World Cup games in Paris and continue to study Orientalism. On June 15, 1997, Kobi returned from his last vacation at home. In the early evening he set out for operational activity, in which an armored unit took part. The Merkava tank in which Kobi was traveling mounted a powerful explosive device near the village of Beit Yahun, in the western sector of the security zone in southern Lebanon. As a result of the explosion, the doors of the fighters’ cell were locked in a tank. Kobi was badly injured by the injuries and remained trapped with his friends inside the tank. Their rescue lasted about two and a half hours, a long and expensive time, which determined Kobi’s fate. During the evacuation to the hospital Kobi died of his wounds and he was twenty-one years old. His parents began commemorating his memory by inserting a Torah library into the Klal Yisrael synagogue, which operated temporarily within an existing school. Later, in cooperation with the Klal Yisrael organization and the community, a conference was builtA new name bearing the name of Kobi – ‘Heichal Yaakov’.
