Bernheim, Jacob (‘Kobi’)

Son of Aryeh and Bracha. He was born on September 15, 1951 in Tel Aviv. He was a pretty boy, alert and playful. When he was seven, he traveled with his parents and older sister, Idit, to Liberia in West Africa. When he was ten years old, he returned to Israel, continued his studies at the Graz Elementary School and later attended the Shevach High School. Kobi was kind and kind, and was always willing to help anyone. He was naturally optimistic and sought to find the positive in everything. He loved his family very much and was a devoted son and cared for his parents. He always preferred spending time with the family over any other form of entertainment. From his youth Kobi was attracted to everything related to aviation and asked to be a pilot when his time came to enlist. When it became apparent that a certain defect in vision might prevent him from being accepted to an aviation course, he decided that at least he would serve in the air force as a professional. He therefore chose to continue his studies at the IAF Technical School. Kobi loved swimming and was a regular member of the Tel Aviv Club of the Country Club. Yaakov was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in early 1970. He was assigned to a helicopter squadron as a mechanic, and he loved the life of the army and his squadron, the super-perlon squadron. Even before the Yom Kippur War, he participated in many operational activities, including the raid on Beirut’s airfield, and during the Yom Kippur War he took part in the operational activities of his squadron and left the war peacefully, and his fall in battle was symbolic of his character – the desire to help others. (27.4.1974), the country’s twenty-sixth Independence Day. Koby fell when he went with his friends to rescue the wounded from the shelling of the Syrians at the “outpost” on Mount Hermon. The helicopter on all of his crew crashed, and he was killed. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. Survived by his parents and two sisters. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, the commander of the squadron wrote: “Dear parents, I met Kobi Ishit, a fresh and laughing sabra character. He always helped his friends, had initiative and resourcefulness, devoted, loyal and decent. He was the first rank of the squadron mechanic and as such was chosen to be in the squadron’s operational teams, a privilege given only to the best. Rabbi Lau, who was Kobi’s rabbi during his Bar Mitzvah ceremony, said: “Kobi went away. And took with him the sweetest in the world, the charm, the smile, the kindness, the gentleness, the joy and the willingness to lend a helping hand to rescue a friend. Dear parents, you have educated such a child that he wished, because we will all continue to live our lives out of happiness, not out of gloom, slackness, and kneeling. To this end he sacrificed his soul, so that we would all continue with the same courage. He gave his life on the altar of the people and the defense of the land. His soul will be bound by the bundle of life. “