Beit Aryeh, Ofir
Ophir, son of Rachel and Yitzhak, was born on the 31st of Adar 5714 (31.3.1954) in Givatayim. He studied at the Gordon Elementary School and then completed his studies in the Kalei High School in the literary track and successfully passed the matriculation exams. Ofir had a thorough and systematic way of thinking, and was therefore an excellent student, who excelled mainly in the fields of Hebrew literature and general history. He wanted to continue to study general history and political science at the university. Most of his spare time was devoted to target shooting. He began his activities in the framework of the Gadna in the Tel Aviv area and in 1970-1972 he was the shooting champion of the Gadna command. In 1970 he was chosen to represent the Gadna command in a shooting competition in Europe and was a member of the Hapoel branch in Ramat Gan and was the personal mentor of the national team coach Kehat Shor, who was murdered by terrorists at the Munich Olympics. He has also been a member of Israel’s youth and adult teams and has represented the country in many competitions. In 1971 he was crowned Israel’s youth champion. His coaches saw him as one of Israel’s greatest hopes in the target-shooting industry. He left behind him a collection of rifles, medals and trophies he had won in many competitions. Ofir was a member of the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement and was a partner in extensive social and cultural activities. He was pleasant and friendly and always willing to help others. Thanks to these qualities he acquired many friends, the door of his house was open to his friends, who loved him and his joy with him. In his room, he and his friends were engaged in heated debates about the problems of the people and the state. Ophir was the living spirit in these meetings, knew and expressed his views with clarity and persuasion and would defend them with great fervor. Ofir was drafted into the IDF in early August 1972 and was assigned to the Armored Corps, where he was trained in armored personnel carriers and was sent to serve in a tank battalion as a combat soldier and during his service in the army he did not abandon his hobby and try to continue to train in order to maintain his high standard and professional ability And during the Yom Kippur War, Ophir was in the Armored Corps course at the Armored Corps School. He was sent to the southern front to participate in the battles to contain and break up against the Egyptians in the Sinai. He participated in the fierce battle to conquer the “Chinese ranch” in which he served as the driver of the company commander’s armored personnel carrier, and showed courage and boldness and rescued his wounded commander under heavy enemy fire on October 20, 1973. ) He was brought to rest at the cemetery in Kiryat Shaul and left behind his parents and a sister, and was promoted to the rank of corporal after his death The Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University, In cooperation with the ZOA House, a series of lectures in memory of Ophir on “Archeological Studies in the Land of Israel and Sinai.” The lectures were attended by researchers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Ophir’s father, who is among the researchers of the Institute, is the name of the archeological expedition of the institute headed by his father, who studies southern Israel and Sinai, and has been transformed into the Ophir Expedition for Sinai Research.
