Ben-Zion (Bentzi), son of Ester and Pinchas, was born on the 23rd of Adar 1936, in Bnei Brak. His father immigrated to Israel from Persia to prepare for the arrival of the family, and his mother followed him in a very difficult way under very difficult conditions, carrying Yehuda, his older brother, who was six months old. When the caravan arrived in Israel, they were caught and the immigrants were arrested. Three months later, Bentzi’s mother was released and the family moved to Bnei Brak, then a colony surrounded by orchards and eucalyptus trees. Because of the economic situation at home, the children could not attend regular studies and often wandered around and played. As a boy, Benzi worked as a garage mechanic and an engraver in a motorcycle factory and the first money he earned he gave to his parents. His mother said that he was always happy to give her all that he had earned. From an early age he had a tendency to adventure and a desire for independence. He used to climb trees and fight with Arab boys around. After a while, he attended a yeshiva in Bnei Brak and completed his high school studies in evening classes. Bentzi was very attached to his family, respected his parents and tried to make things as easy as possible for them. His relationship with his brothers and sisters was an example. Because of his many talents, he found it difficult to choose his way to the future, and his talent for acting and the stage world attracted him. About a year before his enlistment, he attended Moshe Halevy School of the Performing Arts and participated in the “Tuchan” theater plays, which were performed in several places in Israel. Ben-Zion was drafted into the IDF in early November 1955. After completing his basic training course, he underwent a reconnaissance course and was certified as a scout, and was injured in a raid on the Qalqiliya police on the eve of Operation Kadesh, and this was the first time he was injured during his military service. All the injuries he tried to conceal from the knowledge of his family, so they won’t be worried. With this battalion, Bentzi made his entire career in the IDF and was one of the best cadets in the Israel Defense Forces. When an officer was successful in a complicated navigation exercise, they would say in the summary: “He’s almost like Bentzi.” He took a parachuting course and took part in Operation Kadesh as a scout in the Abu-Agila area. In August 1960, he completed an officers’ course. Since then he saw the army in his future and decided to join the permanent army. As usual, he also gave his first salary to his parents, so that they would pay debts for the apartment built by his older brother Yehudah. Then he said: “Judah built and I pay the debt.” Benzi completed the tank commanders’ course with honors and on his return, he took part in reconnaissance and cross-border raids in the Mount Hebron area. From the Armored Corps course, Benzi returned as a tank officer and established the battalion reconnaissance unit, which served as a base for the armored patrol, from which he became the deputy commander of an Amax tank company. In training, he was hit by a bullet that hit his chest and was taken to a hospital in Be’er Sheva. His friends who came to visit said that despite his condition, his amusing mood had not left him for a moment and was always surrounded by giggling nurses. A month after he recovered from his wound, he was injured again in an accident and returned to the hospital, this time with his leg shattered. When he lay on the operating table he could still tell the doctor: “Do not cut my leg off” and fainted. Indeed, with his strong will and stubborn persistence, his shattered leg returned to normal and he returned to active duty. Upon his return to the battalion, he was appointed battalion intelligence officer, established the reconnaissance company of the 7th Brigade and was appointed to head it. He passed among the corps units, spoke with commanders, and developed combat doctrine. He gathered the best soldiers and commanders and established a magnificent reconnaissance company that operated according to the combat doctrine it had formulated. After marrying his wife, he agreed to leave, he served three years as a construction contractor and succeeded in his actions, but his longing for the army increased, and he decided to return to service, and six months before the outbreak of the Six-Day War he returned to the army and became commander of a Patton tank. The brigade entered Khan Yunis, but a bullet that hit his head took him out of the battle. Bentzi’s brother-in-law, who was the commander of a unit in that battle, came to rescue the wounded. In the event, he looked into the half-track and discovered the unconscious Bentzi, and after he was transferred to the hospital, he began a fierce struggle for his life, struggling for his life for a month, when his wife did not move from his bed. He left the hospital with his wife, Frieda, after he was granted a 76 percent disability, and was then offered the option of being discharged from the army, but he refused. He explained that he was disabled only 76 and still has a 24 percent holding of fitness, and he does not understand why he can not serve in a fighting unit. ” He struggled-and could. At first, he was assigned to various staff positions in the armored corps headquarters, which was contrary to his character and his will. After a long period of pleading and persuading commanders, and contrary to the opinion of the doctors, demanding that he be released from the army, Benzi succeeded in obtaining a command post in the Jordan Valley and was then appointed a regular tank commander in the Golan Heights and from there to Sharm el-Sheikh. When General Gonen was appointed the commander of a division in the south, he demanded a position in that division and was appointed the commander of a patrol battalion. During this period Bentzi continued to receive treatment and underwent further operations in his head. On Benzi’s personality, his brother Yehuda wrote: “Bentzi’s worldview was always optimistic and full of confidence, and no restrictions and obstacles could undermine his self-confidence, he was courageous and fearless, The joy of youth and the liberating and captivating humor in them excelled, did not detract from his serious attitude and was responsible for fulfilling duty and duty. ” On his mischievousness, a member of the armed forces wrote: “Benzi’s face was a problem, and sometimes he would frown with anger, just so that a moment later a huge smile would be poured from ear to ear.” “From where did Bentzi derive so great, so noble, spiritual powers, certainly from within himself, with years of vigorous recognition, certainly from his family’s nest, alongside a wife who had a helping hand in a sympathetic understanding,” wrote Rabbi Ephraim Tsemel. Because mainly he nursed from the roots of his father’s house and a version of his childhood – his parents’ house – all saturated with the spirit of the Torah of Israel, willing to follow all its commandments. ” In the Yom Kippur War, on October 8, 1973, Lieutenant Colonel Ben-Zion Carmeli headed his battalion on the “Hamada” ridge. He was given the task of curbing the enemy’s advance, while the rest of the division was directed to another section of the front. The battalion, with its clutches in its head, managed to hold the ridge and the “spider” axis, on which it was planned to succeed. During the battle, he fell and was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife and three children, parents, a brother, and two sisters. Arik Sharon, the division commander who succeeded the canal, said in his obituary about Bentzi: “Bentzi fell when he commanded his battalion, which held a hilltop of utmost importance in the face of the Egyptian attacks … We stayed there to stop the Egyptians … and they did so. They did this on the same day and continued until the end of the war … This battalion was among the best in the IDF units … Bentzi built The battalion, nurtured it, trained it and headed it … With its courage, its personal example, its dedication to its purpose, its modesty and its fighting spirit, Benzi could serve as an example to all of us. ” Gur said: “I would like to commend Lieutenant Colonel Carmeli Ben-Zion for his spirit of volunteerism, courage, the will to fight and dedication to the mission. The following is a description of the incident: “In the Yom Kippur War, Lt. Col. Carmeli commanded a reconnaissance battalion on the Sinai front, and Lieutenant Colonel Ben-Zion Carmeli, who was disabled during the Six-Day War, persistently insisted on commanding combat forces despite his limitations On October 8, 1973, the battalion participated in the battles in the area of “magic.” Lt. Col. son of-Zion Carmeli z “l commanded his battalion under heavy shelling and revealed the enemy’s intentions on the area. Lt. Col. Ben-Zion Carmeli z “l with his tank towards the same area, while conducting battles and destroying enemy tanks, in which he was injured and fell in. Lt. Col. Ben-Zion Carmeli of blessed memory discovered in these actions a spirit of volunteerism, courage, They ran Strong fighting and dedication to the mission. ” In the memory of Bentzi, the family established a Beit Midrash called Ma’alot Kedoshim in Bnei Brak and a scholarship fund for students from disadvantaged families. The patrol battalion he commanded published a pamphlet called “Friends for Arms” in memory of its fallen men, and contains things about him and his memory.
