Banea, Alexander (“Alex”, “Alexey”)

Son of Mordechai and Bella. He was born on March 1, 1926 in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. His parents were Hebrew teachers before they immigrated to Israel in 1934 and were among the veteran Zionists; His father – one of the founders and administrators of the “Tarbut” schools in Bialystok. After his family immigrated to Israel, Alexander completed his elementary studies at a school in Nahariya. Afterward, he graduated from the “Teach” school in Yagur and received a matriculation certificate. In his youth he was a member of the Hanoar Haoved movement. He loved music and public work. At age 17 he joined the Palmach. Before the establishment of the State, he became the platoon commander there. His first independent command was on the Sheikh-Hussein bridge in February 1948, during the War of Independence he commanded a company. After that, he became a regular army officer and as such was a multi-disciplinary officer. He served as the commander of the Negev Brigade, the commander of the Be’er Sheva bloc, the commander of a Nahal training camp, the Nahal Brigade commander, and the chief of operations. He was a member of Moshav Orot for three and a half years, and served as secretary of the moshav in 1960. In 1960 he received a position in the Ministry of Defense in Be’er Sheva in 1963. He was sent back to Tanzania as head of the IDF team; They established the National Service there. When he returned to Israel at the end of 1966, he moved to the Civil Service Commission, where he worked until he was drafted in May, the days of alert for the Six-Day War. On the 28th of Iyar 5727 (7.6.1967), the third day of the battles, he fell in the battle of El Arish in the act of cleansing the city of enemy forces. He left a wife and five children – one of them a lieutenant in the air force. He was buried in the military cemetery in Bari and later moved to the eternal rest of the military cemetery in Be’er Sheva. In the Beersheba Municipality (“Here is Be’er Sheva”), in the “Honor for the Fallen – Condolences for Families” section, his memory was raised. In the booklet “In Memory” issued by the municipality of Dimona, his name was immortalized.