Barilai, Yitzhak (Itzik)

Son of Lily and Eliahu, was born on the 16th of Cheshvan 5719 (30.10.1958) in Ramle. Yitzhak attended the Ma’anit elementary school in Ramle and continued his studies at the Amal vocational high school in his city. As was the case with boys his age, Yitzhak dealt in sports during his adolescence. He liked playing soccer and basketball, and played for a team at Neve David in Ramle. The spirit of volunteering and the sense of social involvement that led him to devote his energies to guiding marginal youth in his city and to the activities of the Civil Guard. In high school, Yitzhak studied mechanics. When he was drafted, he went to an aviation course and held on for a long time. When he dropped out of the course, Yitzhak was referred to the Ordnance Corps. After graduating from the IDF, he began working at the Israel Airports Authority, where he worked in the field of salaries, and he advanced in his work thanks to his sharp mind and his ability to make efforts, during which time he married Ricki and built her a warm home. He served only three years, but his ability was great, and according to his commander, “every commander would have been blessed with it.” He had an ambition to do what was needed in the best way possible. His comrades in the unit testify that he was smiling, friendly, a reliable person, and a soldier who accepts with understanding and without Tronier an additional role to play. His involvement in the company was deep and beyond the norm, as expected of a relatively new soldier. In a letter written by his commander in the family, he noted that Itzik was “a model soldier and in his service in Lebanon did everything he had to do in the best possible manner.” During the Peace for Galilee war, his unit was on the coastal plain, and when it returned to our territory, near Metulla, the disaster happened: Itzik was hit by a roadside bomb planted in his path. Yitzhak fell in battle on February 10, 1985, and was buried in the Ramle military cemetery. He was 26 years old when he fell. He left behind a wife and son, parents and five brothers and sisters. His family commemorated the donation of prayer books and a Menorah to the Ramle synagogue