Hazan, Shmuel (Sami)

Son of Phoebe and Albert. He was born on Friday, November 10, 1967. In the town of Sderot, Shmuel, who was called Sami, grew up in Sderot and completed the Shikmim Elementary School, where he moved to the town’s comprehensive school. Sami was a responsible and lively child, accepted and loved by society. He had a distinct sense of humor and displayed talent in painting. As the eldest son of the family, with four children, and the first grandson of the two grandparents, Sami enjoyed many indulgences, but also showed concern for his parents and was very attached to his brothers and sisters. He was an outstanding athlete and excelled in running, swimming and tennis. Gold and silver medals accumulated in his room, which he won in various competitions. His involvement in sports was a medical miracle, since in childhood he suffered from a leg and was hospitalized for a long time. At one point, the doctors feared the fate of the injured leg, but Sami recovered and became a champion in running and swimming and at the age of fifteen crossed the Sea of ​​Galilee. Sami also liked to travel to Israel with his close friends and every year he celebrated his birthday with a majority. When he was sixteen, he traveled with his father, the director of oil drilling, to the United States for two months and stayed with relatives. This trip impressed him very much and he dreamed of returning to America after his release. When he reached the age of eighteen he received a car from his grandfather, and two months later he was involved in an accident, from which he escaped unhappily. In October 1985, Sammy enlisted in the IDF and served as a driver at the headquarters, and he made good contact with the commanders and soldiers and was loved by all, but on September 12, 1988, on the return to his base after an evacuation leave, Fatal to the car in which he traveled and Shmuel lost his life. He fell in his duty a week before his release and was buried in the military section of the Sderot cemetery. He was twenty-one years old when he fell. He left behind his parents, a brother – Rocky and two sisters – Etti and Miri. A Torah scroll commemorating his name was placed in a synagogue in Sderot.