Ben Daniel and Shoshana. He was born on July 26, 1976 in Tel Aviv and became the pride of the family. As a child, he had to contend with health problems that endangered his life and spent long periods in hospitals until a cure was found for his illness. His family petitioned him for great attention, warmth and love. In his early years he lived in Bat Yam, where he began his studies at the Givati Elementary School. When Emil was ten, he moved with his family to Eilat. A year later his parents divorced and Emil moved in with his father, brother and sister. Together they went through a difficult period, but Emil overcame the difficulties and supported his brother. He studied at the “Eilat Mountains” elementary school and continued to the ORT division in the city. Despite his high grades and despite the lack of doubt about his cleverness, he did not find his place within the high school in Eilat, and when he reached the ninth grade he asked to move to another school. Since there is no other educational institution in Eilat, he expressed his desire to move to an agricultural school because of his great love for nature and landscapes. The place that was most suitable was the boarding school, and Emil went there. He quickly acclimatized and began to flourish. In the first year of his studies, he was chosen as the student council and at the end of the year he received an outstanding student certificate and was named “dairy farmer of the year”. His love for animals was evident to all, and one of the calves was able to bear his name. Although he was far from home and his family, Emil maintained close ties with his brother and mother, who saw him as an authoritative figure. Emil excelled in his theoretical studies and writings. He expressed his scientific skills when he was studying pupilhood and growth at the Science Park in Ness Ziona. The highlight of his research was his thesis, which he wrote for three years, under the guidance of a professor from the Weizmann Institute, who received a special certificate of appreciation from Shulamit Aloni. The subject of the study was the development of a variety of wagons that would yield more milk with less fodder. His research has generated many resonances, has been studied in the Faculty of Agriculture and has received international recognition – it has been studied and implemented in a number of Third World countries. Emil began planning his future as a veterinarian, and at the same time was very active in the social field. The volunteer spirit was inherent in his blood and he served as a guide for street gangs in Rehovot. He lectured at the Al Sam Association, underwent a first aid course and volunteered at Magen David Adom. Emil wanted to create a positive entertainment framework for youth and planned to open a discotheque in Ashkelon. He was a member of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI). When he was in 11th grade, Emil was elected to head a school delegation and joined 600 outstanding students from around the country, who traveled together with then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Minister Shulamit Aloni on a journey to Poland, entitled ” . In the 12th grade his mind had already crystallized in military affairs and he expressed his desire to join one of the elite patrols in the IDF. He was happy to be drafted into the Nahal Brigade and began to prepare himself for the induction: he trained his body and improved his physical fitness, played basketball and soccer and loved to run, and Emil had a special weakness for redheads. Emile joined the IDF in early August 1994 and took a course in which he took many courses. He was trained as a combat soldier, served in Lebanon, spent most of his service at the “Pumpkin” outpost, and was highly praised by his commanders, who appreciated his professionalism and loyalty. During his arduous journeys, Emil was twice spared, and lost some of his comrades in clashes withTerrorists in Lebanon and managed to save his commander from death. After a long and dangerous service in Lebanon, and as a token of appreciation for his performance, it was decided to include him in the training system and to appoint a new squad commander. He could pass the time he had left until he was freed from the line of fire, but Emil gave up his appointment and preferred to stay with his friends and go with them to the front. This was his last visit to Lebanon. On the evening of 28 February 1997, the helicopter disaster occurred when two Yasur helicopters collided over Moshav Shear Yashuv. The seventy-three fighters, who made their way to operational activity in Lebanon, were killed, including Emil. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ashkelon. He was twenty years old when he fell. Survived by parents, four brothers – Assaf, Ariel, Eliad and Natan – El, and a sister – Levit. His brother, Assaf, said: “He was everything for us, the three of us were very close, Emil was for me and for example, in his aspiration for excellence.” Emil always volunteered, always stood out and stood. Emil’s uncle, eulogized him: “He was a fighter and loved the action … What interested him was to contribute as much as possible, and in the end we donated him to the state.” In his letter of condolence to the bereaved family, Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak wrote: “Emil served as a medic in the engineering division of the Nahal Brigade, and was described by his commanders as an exemplary, professional and responsible soldier in the performance of his duties, while demonstrating dedication and assistance to those around him at all times.” The commander of the unit wrote: “Emil, who served as a medic, who believed in the importance of his position and was able to give personal attention to every soldier who approached him, always volunteered to head the force and was right and first to carry out any mission. As a man and as a warrior. ” The press extensively covered the disaster, and the articles that were published described the image of Emil. His mother commemorated the entry of a Torah library in his name to the Beit Yaakov synagogue in Bat Yam and wrote him a farewell saying: “A man is glorious and a son loves you, and now the sky is gone, and you are lying on the ground, your blood cries up, the sea is silent, everything is silent.”
