Ben-Zaken, David

David Son of-Zaken, son of janet and Shmuel, was born on January 26, 1951, in Jerusalem. In 1952, when David was a year and a half old, his family left the country and moved to Morocco, where they stayed until 1962 when they returned to Israel. The family lived in Jerusalem, where David studied at the Chabad elementary school and later studied printing at the Ort-Hanichim school in the German Colony in Jerusalem. David joined the IDF in November 1969. After completing basic training, he served in the maintenance corps. In October 1976 he began serving in the regular army. He served as a company commander and divisional officer. David was miraculously saved several times from terrorist attacks in Lebanon, as well as from the fall of a dining room roof in Ein Yahav in 1971, when he was in regular service and overturning a vehicle in Hebron. David contracted a malignant disease, underwent a series of treatments at the end of which seemed to be healthy, but his poor health impaired his ability to work. On the 25th of Av (August 20, 1987) David died of his illness and was brought to eternal rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. After his death he was promoted to the rank of Major. David left behind a wife, three daughters and a son, parents and two brothers – Eli and Avi.