Eldar, Assaf (Assi)

Ben Pnina and Menahem. He was born on the 24th of Cheshvan 5772 (12.11.1971) in Rishon Letzion and grew up in it. He studied at Shalmon Elementary School, continued in the Ma’ayan Middle School and completed high school at the Amit School of Biological Studies. Assi was a talented athlete. During the five years of his activity at Maccabi Rishon LeZion, he worked in light athletics: a long jump and a great fight. He excelled in pushing off a discus, a bayonet and an iron ball, and won the youth championship in Israel in these fields. When he was sixteen, Assi broke the national record by throwing a discus. He took part in two baseballs, the one held in Toronto and the one in Chicago, and won them three gold medals for his achievements in chasing off an iron and relay race. Assi joined the Israel Defense Forces in February 1990 and began basic training in Givati, during which he was found to be in poor health, and was later transferred to a Nahal paramilitary training base. Assaf fell during his service on the 12th day of Iyar 5740 (May 7, 1990) and was brought to eternal rest in the military cemetery in Rishon Letzion. He was eighteen when he died. Left parents and brother – Amit. “As I try to pass on Assi’s character, I immediately remember his rolling laugh, which caught up with us all during the lessons, and with the wise comments he used to make – not always with permission. Except an indifferent, cynical, and sometimes rough boy, but in his soul he was an innocent and sensitive child. ” His teacher found Assi’s personality an interesting combination of an outstanding athlete with intellectual alertness, a clever and mischievous boy. He served in the army for a very short time, but enough for his commander to notice that he was a disciplined, disciplined soldier, a good friend, and that he had carried out every task he had been given with efficiency and perseverance.