Amzaleg, Nehorai Meir

Son of Sol and Rabbi Yosef, of blessed memory, was born on April 1, 1962, in Ofakim. As a member of a religious family, Nehorai was educated in the religious education system. He began his studies at the “Sinai” elementary school in Ofakim, and even then stood out as a student in the holy studies. After graduating from elementary school, he moved to the Ohel Shlomo Yeshiva in Be’er Sheva. At that time Nehorai joined the Bnei Akiva youth movement and was active in a branch of the movement in Ofakim. Yeshiva studies strengthened Nehorai’s love for the Land of Israel. He was prepared to argue with anyone about the need to live in Israel. One time he managed to persuade a friend to cancel his plan to travel to the United States for a few years. When a friend asked him how Nehorai had convinced him, he replied, “When I saw Nehorai, I saw the Land of Israel.” Nehorai wanted to volunteer for the paratroopers, but did not want to give up his studies, so he joined the Shvut Yisrael hesder yeshiva in Efrat and a few months later was drafted into a paratroop unit. Nehorai was a devoted soldier and volunteered for every mission. When the Peace for Galilee War broke out, the plans changed and Nehoria went up with his unit to fight in Lebanon After a month of fierce fighting, the unit returned to the base in northern Israel to take care of the equipment. He volunteered to help the soldiers of another unit to deal with their armored personnel carriers. Nehorai was killed during his service in the Peace for Galilee War on 17 Tamuz, July 8, 1982 and was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ofakim. He left behind his parents (his father died two years after Nehorai’s death), brothers and sisters. His family donated a Torah scroll in his memory to the central synagogue for young people in Ofakim, and on the third anniversary of his death, a book was published in his memory.