Barzilai, Max-Mordechai

Max, son of Levanah and Avraham, was born on May 8, 1953, in Rishon LeZion to parents who immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the State of Israel. He studied at the Haviv Elementary School in Rishon Letzion and later continued to study at the Holtz High School and the Air Force Technical School in Haifa. Max had been a diligent student from childhood, and he particularly liked the technical subjects. At the age of twelve, he had excelled in the construction of instruments and in frame work, in school, and on vacations – in outdoor work. The money he earned was given to his mother. He helped his family as much as he could, without asking him to. Max (or Maxo – as his friends fondly called him) was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in mid-November 1970 and assigned to the Israel Air Force, where he was trained as a ground-equipment mechanic, and was recognized for his dedication to work and for his good relations with his friends. In his military unit Max was a central figure, and when a party was held and he was absent, they immediately asked, “Where is Max?” One day there was a decision to transfer soldiers from one unit to another, and Max was among the soldiers who were supposed to move to another unit but everyone convinced the commander to let him stay and he did. during his entire army service, he tried to get home for vacations, and took advantage of these vacations to work and help at home, Max loved his mother and his little brother, Who called him “a little parrot.” He urged his parents to send the brother to kindergarten and promised that he would bear the costs of holding him when he served in the career army. , Max was with his unit at the base in Sinai. On the 7th of Tishrei 5740 (October 7, 1973), the base was attacked by enemy aircraft and Max was killed in the bombing. He was laid to rest in the military section of the Rishon Letzion cemetery. Survived by his parents, two brothers and two sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to First Sergeant. His sister wrote about him: “They say about young men that when they die, they become angels, Max did not have to die to be an angel, he was an angel in his life.”