Bluman, Yoav
Yoav, son of Hadassah and Moshe, was born on December 26, 1951 in Kibbutz Reshefim. He attended elementary school in the kibbutz and was a lively and kind child. Liked to fool his teachers and classmates and yet was the leader of his class. He was active in the Hashomer Hatza’ir movement and was known as the spirit among his fellow members – organizing, directing, helping others and he was a loyal friend. Yoav was an avid fan of classical and modern music. He was a soloist in the kibbutz children’s choir and later played the trumpet on the Gilboa Quintet. After completing his studies at the elementary school in Rishaf, Yoav moved to the Gilboa educational institution in Beit Alpha. Where his friends learned to know him as a man of integrity, honesty, and faith in his principles, to which he had stood with great courage, even if he was often considered a counter-current. In very heated debates, he defended his views against his friends with great grace. His friends were able to appreciate and respect his courage and daring, to say things that were difficult and contrary to the general opinion, and learned to love his vital character. He could also acknowledge his limitations and be thankful. In a dedication he wrote to his teacher, he said: “Moshe, it is a good thing for you that you managed to hold us to the end, I do not know what the group would have been like if you were not the educator.” Yoav was drafted into the IDF at the end of November 1970, underwent basic training as part of the Armored Corps and joined the Armored Corps as a tank driver, and was always considered a driver for special missions such as exams in various areas and formulating combat doctrine. After a short period of service in an operational battalion, he was sent to a tank commanders’ course and returned to his first battalion, where he worked in training until the outbreak of the war and became known as the commander of the most excellent tank in the battalion. : “When I came to the company, Yoav was already a veteran ITC officer and he seemed to be very tuff But when I met him, i discovered that he was a great friend with a lot of feeling and consideration for others, a man with high natural characteristics, very talented, Yoav had an older thought and sober behavior. “Yoav devoted much interest to mathematics and on his last vacation, before the outbreak of the war, he was examined and registered at the Technion’s School of Practical Engineers in Ohel Sara to begin his studies after he was discharged from the IDF in November of that year. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Yoav was on vacation in Rishafim. He felt his unit, sent immediately to the battle zone. Near Khan-Arnabeh, on the first night of the war, Yoav’s tank was hit and he was transferred to the home front. After his first tank was hit, he did not return to his battalion but fought in other battalions. He arranged another tank for himself and went into battle. When the second tank was hit, he repaired it under a shower of fire. After this tank also went out of use, he went to the rear and arranged for himself a third tank, whose machine was defective. On his way back to the front line, two officers joined him as crew members. As one of them testified: “I was not prepared to be a gunner with anyone, but I trust Yoav with my eyes closed … Yoav was very professional and ‘spitz’ when it comes to tanks.” Yoav was wounded and died of his wounds when he was commanding the third tank, and he was brought to eternal rest in Rishaf, leaving behind his parents and sister. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and was awarded the “Order of Valor” by the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mordechai Gur,
