Erez, Yigal

Son of Shmuel (who was one of the first founders of IMI in the underground) and Miriam. He was born on 21 June 1949 in Petah Tikva and attended the “Nevo” and “Shimoni” elementary schools in Givatayim. He then studied for one year at the ORT Technicum Technical School and completed his studies at the Tel Aviv Municipal High School. During the elementary school period he was a member of the Scouts and after he grew up he joined the United Movement, the Yad Eliyahu branch, where he joined the Nahal Horev group and was gifted with an accordion, harmonica, flute and guitar. He was a good student and had impressive grades, and during the summer vacation between 11th and 12th grade he participated in a youth delegation that went abroad on behalf of the school. Yigal enlisted in the IDF at the end of July 1967. Even though he was an orphan from a father and only son to his mother, he enlisted with his comrades in the Nahal Brigade, and from there he moved to the Nahal paramilitary brigade The Chute. One by one, he underwent basic training, a parachuting course, a course for group machinegun operators, a period of employment and pursuit in the Jordan Valley and a short period at Ginegar. From there he moved to Kalia and from there to Nahal Oz. Yigal hated injustice, even against Arabs. Once, when he was in the neighborhood of Zweid (in the Gaza Strip), several soldiers came to his unit and “pumped” watermelons from an Arab group. Yigal demanded that they not enter the only encampment before paying the difficult owner for the watermelons, and only then allowed them to enter. During his turbulent and stormy period of service, he prepared himself for entrance exams to the Technion and successfully met them. Later he reached Kibbutz Eilot near Eilat. There he found peace of mind and satisfaction. In the kibbutz, he specialized mainly in date palm cultivation and participated in “seminars” for farmers throughout the country. He sailed deep in the blue sea of ​​Eilat, swimming and painting. He was also a member of an artistic dance club on the kibbutz. After two years in the kibbutz he began again – to decide. Should I continue my studies and where? Will he go to study art at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, or architecture at the Technion? Then he was called for reserve duty. On the 29th of Adar 5733 (29.3.1973) Yigal fell in the line of duty and was put to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He laid a mother and a sister. The commander of his unit wrote in a letter of condolence to the family: “We stand at attention on the grave of your son Yigal, who fell in the course of his duty while training in the company’s half-track, and despite all the precautions we took, Yigal was hit by a bullet in the neck. And experienced, loved and accepted by his friends and commanders. ” His friend Noni wrote: “Yigal lived in a Yaffa and simple world of fields and sun and work, done with all the Lev and body, and feelings and music and loads, and everything else was unimportant, no study, no economic future, no company. His family published in his memory a memorial book bearing his name, including things about him and his memory and many paintings from his estate.