Gal, Yaakov

The eldest son of Tzvia and Naftali, he was born on February 21, 1955, in Kibbutz Nir Am. At the age of two, the family moved to Be’er Sheva and from there to Tel Aviv. Yaakov began his studies at the elementary school in Ramat-Hen and continued at the Ussishkin elementary school in Ramat Hasharon. He joined his parents, who were sent to Chile and attended the Weizmann School. He was active in the Zionist youth movement Maccabi. Two years later he decided to return to Israel alone and studied for two more years at the Herzliya high school. He was drafted into the IDF in early 1973 and volunteered to serve in the Paratroopers Brigade. In the course of his service, he served as a platoon commander in a parachute infantry battalion, and as a result of his military service, Yaakov was asked to continue his career in the army. He was a deputy commander of a paratroop company, and his commanders admired him as a loyal and trusted officer for his commanders and soldiers, who successfully and devotedly discharged all his duties. He completed his undergraduate studies in agricultural economics at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Rechovot and completed his studies for a master’s degree (the title and diploma were granted to his family only on the anniversary of his fall). In November 1978 he married his girlfriend Ayala and the couple set up house in Rechovot. During his studies, Yaakov worked in various security jobs. On October 25, 1981, their son Matan was born. Prior to the Peace for Galilee war, Yaakov was called with his company for active reserve duty. On the 2nd of Tammuz 5742 (23.6.1982), Lieutenant Yaakov fell in a battle in the central sector, in the area of ​​Mansuriya-Hamdoun, on the Beirut-Damascus highway, leaving a pregnant wife, son, parents, brother and sister. He was laid to rest in the military section of the cemetery in Nir Zvi and his posthumous master’s thesis was published in his monthly journal, “The Field.” In his obituary, Prof. Pinchas Sussman said: “Yaakov was one of the most talented men in the department. He preferred the basic and difficult way, and in the course of his studies he took all the courses in mathematics, statistics, and economic theory … He asked a lot of questions and explained the discussion. Yaakov was not satisfied with passive studies and always chose subjects in which he required self-motivation.” A scholarship fund in his memory was instituted at the Faculty of Agriculture.