Castel, Eliahu (Lulu)

Son of Adele and Zvi, was born on October 10, 1926, in Tel Aviv, to an old family from Hebron, where he studied at the “Herzliya” Gymnasium in Tel Aviv and was offered a scholarship to study at the Technion, But he rejected this because he “preserved his energy and his life for the sole purpose of a homeland that he loved.” He was a member of the Haganah from his youth and was active in it along with his studies in the Gymnasium. 17 He wanted to volunteer for the British army and for that reason he stopped his studies in the eighth grade of the Gymnasium, but according to the advice of his commanders in the Haganah, he enlisted in the police force and served in the Jewish settlements police in the Galilee. Eliahu was sent to a commanders’ course and received his rank with honors, and later wanted to settle in one of the kibbutzim, but his commanders, who knew his talents, directed him to study aeronautical engineering. – The first fire. Upon the establishment of the State, he was given the task of training and training recruits and successfully completed his duties. He then demanded that they send him to a combat unit, was stationed in Brigade 7 and took part in the battles in Latrun. Eliyahu was a strong man, kind, patient and silent. During his last vacation he said, “The price is expensive, but the mission has been achieved … Do not forget that we are fighting for us and for our fallen comrades.” In his last meeting with his mother he comforted her: “There is no unit and I am not alone, many fall and I too may fall, as long as we achieve our goal – and attainment!” On May 31, 1948, during the “son of-Nun Bet” operation, the second attack on the Latrun Legion was wounded by shrapnel from the cannon in the neck, stomach and leg and fell. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery at Nahalat Yitzhak.