Ben Melech, Gil (Gili)

Ben Doris and Mishael, was born on July 18, 1982 in Jerusalem, a younger brother to Eyal and Hadas. Gili was born two years after the eldest son, Golan, was killed in a road accident on May 19, 1980, before he was nine years old. Gili’s birth brought her great happiness with the bereaved family, a happiness that intensified as he grew older. During the period of the kindergarten, Gili was a beautiful baby, known as the “prince of the garden” and when he grew up he became an impressive man. My age was full of warmth and love, charming and sweet, witty and with a rare sense of humor. One of his most prominent symbols was the smile that always accompanied him. In his childhood and youth, he lived in the Abu Tor neighborhood of Jerusalem, attended the Henrietta Szold elementary school and the Minkoff Junior High School. He completed his high school studies at the Ort College in the electronics track and passed the matriculation exams with great success. As a student, he stood out as a true and humble friend who knew how to channel his way between serious study and other social and educational activities. Gili was very fond of his friends and a favorite of his teachers, especially in the last two years of high school. Gili was known for his politeness and gentleness, was friendly, the good boy of Mom and Dad, a delightful child with happiness that made people around him happy. His great hobby was theatricals and Gilly referred to this hobby as a profession. In 1993 he joined the Aerobics Club in Jerusalem as a regular trainee. In 1996, he completed a course for pilot instructors at the Technion in Haifa. Gili did not stop this activity until the day he was drafted. He set up a camp for pilots and went on recruiting days to expand the activities of the airport. Gili used to fly early in the morning and served as the center of the Jerusalem branch. Even after the induction he kept in touch with the club members. In the summer of 1999 Gili left with a youth delegation from the Ministry of Education to Italy and Austria. This journey gave him an additional direction of thinking about life. When he received the enlistment order, it was clear to my age that he wanted to serve as a combat soldier, out of the recognition that this was his duty and his right as a Jew living in the Land of Israel. Gili enlisted in November 2000 and his desire to serve in the Armored Corps was realized. When he learned that he was indeed drafted into the Armored Corps, he sent a written message to his brother Eyal, who was at that time on his tank as part of reserve duty: “I am just a sheriff, no less and no more.” All along the route, Gili knew how to accept everything with the correct understanding and proportions, and behaved like a mature soldier and an understanding person who could transcend himself in moments of truth. After completing his training as a tank driver, he was attached to a tank crew as a contact man in an operational company in the “Storm” battalion of the 500th Brigade. It was a fighting tank battalion and most of its activities were in Judea and Samaria. Despite the difficulty of fulfilling the tasks, Gili knew how to maintain his wonderful and entertaining education and personality, thereby helping not only himself but also the whole company morale. Gili was a rare figure on these levels, and as a brave soldier and warrior he saw – despite the dangers, the burdens and the hardships – of the significance and importance of his presence in Yesha, and considered himself a part of a protective force for the Land of Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular. As a central screw in the social and warrior fabric.One joke of my age was to remove the entire company from routine depression, and his company commander says that when a volunteer was needed, the first hand that was raised was my age. At the end of this period Gili was supposed to leave for a tank commanders course. The Chief of the General Staff, Major General Shaul Mofaz, wrote to the family: “Gili was described as an outstanding fighter who led the unit’s soldiers and raised their spirits with a high degree of motivation, and his commanders testify that he had a well-developed sense of humor. Refused to remain in the rear and always insisted on joining the fighters in my chest”Gili fell in operational activity in Ramallah on January 22, 2002, at the age of twenty. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl. Survived by his parents, brother and sister. After his death he was promoted to sergeant.