Eli was born in Stettin, Poland on December 5, 1949, to his parents Michael and Mina. When he was five months old, the family immigrated to Israel. Thinness, shorts and javelin. Soft eyes, always smiling mischievously. A smile on his face, as if the smile and me were synonymous. Even when he was angry, it was not anger that left a residue of bitterness or resentment. And when he calmed down he raised a typical smile and again it was my real, relaxed, free, open and smiling Eli. Eli’s belief in a Yaffa, good and just life was extraordinary. He had an infectious optimism; Never desperate, always looking for new ways instead of those, which turned out to be blocked. Always without bitterness, but with the belief that “it will be good.” Lots of football, lots of friends, lots of jokes, lots of dreams. “Eli, think about the future, be serious for a moment …” The parents had a lot of advice. Perhaps thanks to them, he graduated from high school in Yehud with a high school diploma. After his military service, he went to find his way through life. He tried his hand at manual labor. After a short time he realized that despite the effort that theoretical studies required, they could be satisfied. He had never forgotten that life itself had a wonderful taste. When you talked to him, did you have the impression that this boy (24, the mother not a boy?) Can bite the apple. He does not go by them, he lives them, enjoys everything. “Eli, what are you doing on vacation?” “I work in the building, but at first it was hard … Now I did not save almost all the money for the tape recorder …” There is a sparkle in his eyes and a broad smile on his face. You see that the boy is Simcha (how does his friend Baruch say: “If I had to erect a memorial to Eli, I would build a giant” Smiley “). Eli studied for one year at the university, sweating a lot during the exams in economics. None of his friends believed, but he had studied real. He did not lose parties, things like that do not lose, and it’s not that the mood has gone down, but that he just goes to study with all his will and strength. On weekends he would come to his parents’ house with friends. Always with friends. He had never had difficulties in his dealings with people. He was mostly with some friends, for whom he was willing to do anything. With friends traveled to the wonderful landscapes of Finland and the North. He planned to return there. He wanted to go on and on, wanted to see, wanted to do, wanted to love, wanted to enjoy and enjoy others. In fact, nothing was easier than being Eli’s friend. There was no need to strain for that. There was no need to go. Eli came over, Eli took the first step. In the last war he crossed the Suez Canal with the former and transferred ammunition to the other side. Eli volunteered for this action, just as he volunteered for many activities, which his friends told him. His friends were killed around him, and Eli himself found himself in difficult situations, with fire on him from all directions. He was saved-with a bullet in his back. When he arrived on vacations, it was clear that he had matured, serious, self-confident and judicious. But that lightness, the same flight of mischief, the same optimism, remained. Days passed. Have already signed the disengagement agreement, and most of our forces have already been removed from Egypt. Two days later, the last soldiers from Eli’s battalion were to leave, and he was among them. On the evening of the 19th of Shvat 5734 (11.2.1974) in the evening, he was sent to bring drivers to clear mines. A routine ride. He drove away and no one knows how the command car turned over, and Eli was blown out of it. The last soldier who fell on occupied Egyptian land. His commander, Gideon Shpony: “Eli served as a soldier in my company since Yom Kippur, he was a very honest and honest guy, very responsible, he drove the commando well, he was never afraid to go in and out of the fire, and we were under fire. We had to move to the tanks on the first line, and one driver was afraid. I asked Eli to sit next to him and give him courage. Finally I realized that Eli himself was driving the car. Eli had a very good sense of orientation in the field. It was never wrong to make mistakes in the territories. We went through a difficult period together, and he never broke and did not ‘complain’ … “
