Burns, Eliyahu

Son of Masoud (Asher) and Iris. The eldest son of a large family. He was born on March 6, 1957 in Hadera. His father immigrated from Libya and lived with his family in the Sela neighborhood in Netanya. Eliahu attended the Yavneh School and completed his studies at the Bar-Ilan High School in Netanya. He was intelligent and smart. Already in kindergarten he stood out as an active child. Even in elementary school he stood out for his good qualities, loved to help everyone, his younger siblings, his parents and the weaker children. Elijah was a very sociable child, always surrounded by a friend. He was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Was a member of the Elizur Netanya basketball team. He devoted himself to sports, both as a basketball player and as a coach for the Elizur Netanya girls’ team, which after his death was named after him – Eli Elitzur. He worked extensively in the Gadna and took part in various courses at the Gadna base in Ju’ara. Eliahu trained himself as a chemical engineer and also worked as a laboratory technician at the Bar Ilan laboratory before enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces, where he volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade during the Yom Kippur War, Whether in Magen David Adom or in the mail, and on February 4, 1976, Eliyahu was drafted into the army and volunteered for the paratroopers. In June 1976 he completed basic training and became a regular soldier in the Paratroopers. On his service in the paratroopers, his friends said that Eli loved to help. He was always ready to advise, to encourage his friends in despair, and as a religious man tried to instill in his friends the tradition of Judaism. At the end of the training period, he was a candidate for a commanding course, and during his high school studies he met his friend Yehudit, and this friendship remained for a long time, and there was already talk of marriage between them after the end of his army service. (10.5.1977) Eliahu fell in the line of duty when he was 20 years old when a helicopter crashed in the Jordan Valley, killing 54 soldiers He was brought to eternal rest in the Netanya military cemetery and left behind his parents, five brothers and sisters, The unit exemplified the volunteerism, effort and sacrifice that Elijah gave to his parents, who donated a Torah scroll to the synagogue to commemorate him.