Ben Gigi, Moshe (Maori)

Moshe ben Mercedes and Samuel was born in Malia, a Spanish town on the northern coast of Africa, on the 3rd of Shevat 5717 (5.1.1957), forth brother to seven: Esterina, Lucci, Allegri, Alberti, Anna, Raquel and Vicki.
In 1975, at seventeen, he immigrated to Israel on his own. Moshe married Yehudit, a nurse, and his two children, Matan and Yakir, were born a year and a half apart. Maori chose to retain his Spanish citizenship, so he could not obtain Israeli citizenship, as dual citizenship was not allowed. After his sons were born, Maori volunteered for military service in the air force. He enlisted on February 5, 1990 and served in the IDF for a year and a half in the anti-aircraft missile unit 136. His commanders described Moshe, “a diligent soldier who performed his tasks well and with great devotion.” Private Moshe Maori Ben Gigi fell in the course of his duty on the 22nd of Sivan, June 6, 1998 in a car accident that occurred during a reserve service that began ten days earlier. He was forty-one when he fell. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. Survived by his wife, two children and a mother. His co-worker Uri Shiran said: “Moshe was a very special person, loved by everyone, optimistic, kind, with a smile on his face … Moshe did wonders in dealing with the engineering problems at the station.”