Benita, Yosef-David

Yosef-David, son of Simi and Yitzhak, was born in Jerusalem in 1950. He studied at the religious branch of the “Anaf HaChaim” in the Baka neighborhood and then continued his high school studies in the Talbiyeh yeshiva. Yossi was born to his family after seven of the nine girls who were born before him. Providence was great of course and attention to him was very great. All the members of the household took care of everything for him and tried to give him everything he wanted. His parents’ great dream was to provide Yossi with a traditional religious education and, if talent was discovered, to help him become a rabbi in Israel. When he was three years old, his parents sent him to hear the Torah from a rabbi in the room. By the time he reached school age, his father had registered him in one of the best in religious schools. His teachers at the time noted that he had a sharp grasp and great ability in his studies, but for some reason it was hard for him to concentrate on religion classes. He preferred secular studies and excelled in them. He spent the rest of his leisure time on his many hobbies and friends. Yossi had a comfortable character and was loved by many of his classmates. They remember how he used to help them, and he knew how to relieve them of any difficulty they had – material or mental – as far as he could get. During that period he spent a lot of time with his friends, so much so that at home they missed him. He was active and could not accept the inaction. He always made sure to find creative pursuits that made him and others happy. Even though he continued on the path his parents had set for him and began studying at the Talbieh high school yeshiva, he did not complete his studies there. During the two years he studied at the yeshiva, Yossi excelled in great ability in his secular studies, while in the Talmud and other religious classes he found no special interest. The atmosphere of confrontation and friction in the yeshiva also weighed on him and he decided to abandon his studies. The parents’ disappointment was great, but they respected Yossi’s determined will and already saw him as an adult, able to decide for himself and to insist on his opinion. Yossi also surprised his parents when he informed them that he had gone to study at the military academy of the Armaments Corps after he had already passed the entrance exams and was approved. He also quickly acquired many friends at the military boarding school and was loved by his instructors and teachers. He was courteous and liked to help his friends. After completing his studies at the boarding school with great success, he returned home to help the parents when their economic situation was strained. For a long time he worked hard and paid his entire salary to help his father and mother, who respected and admired them. Yosef was drafted into the IDF in early May 1968 and volunteered for the Medical Corps as a combat paramedic, and although he could choose a place to serve close to home, because of his medical profile, Yossi preferred to choose one of the most dangerous positions in the army. Yossi was a paramedic in the area of ​​Santa Katerina, and was involved in the life of the Bedouins in the area and gave them medical help even outside the working hours. During the Yom Kippur War, Yossi took part in the difficult battles against the Egyptians in Sinai. On the 6th of Cheshvan 5735 (November 1, 1973), his half-track mounted on a cluster of mines and he was killed. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery on Mount Herzl. He left behind a wife and son, parents and five brothers and sisters.