Avni, David (Dodi)

Son of Yosefa and Avner. He was born in Petah Tikva on the 11th of Shvat, 5762 (11 February 1961). My uncle, the eldest son of his parents, was named after his father’s grandfather, who died during the mother’s pregnancy. His childhood was happily passed on to his parents, who gave him love and great care. Was a mischievous little boy who loved more than flowers, plants, animals, and walks. A second generation of children born in Israel was educated at the Netzach Israel Elementary School in Petach Tikvah, where his father also studied in it, and later his two brothers. He began his high school studies at the Shafir Regional High School in the south of the country, but the distance and longing for his home brought him back to his family two years later. My uncle continued his studies in the biological track at the Zeitlin High School in Tel Aviv. His rebelliousness in religious life, on which he was educated, led him to graduate from the Mishlev High School in Tel Aviv, where he studied in the real world. In addition to his studies, he was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement and during his free time he listened to music and read many books, but his great love was spent on trips around the country. From Sharm el-Sheikh to Eilat, the Galilee and the Golan Heights, and from the end of his high school studies until his induction he spent a long period of vacation on the Sinai coast. At the end of basic training, he underwent various communication courses and was assigned to serve in the south. His release was postponed and he joined the fighters in the Lebanon War. After his discharge from the IDF, he began to study business administration at the college and until a few days before his death he collected material for the final project he was supposed to submit. He was twenty-six years old. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Petah Tikva. Survived by his parents and two brothers. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “David was an exemplary soldier, he did his job well, he showed vigor and initiative in his work, he was a friend and a friend of us all.”