Gavriel, Yehoshua

Son of Frumit and Rahamim (Raymond). Yehoshua was born in Mumbai (Bombay), India, on March 25, 1974. He was the second child in the family, the brother of Ofer and Noa, Rahamim, the father of the family was a Zionist, and Yehoshua, like all the family members, was influenced by him. In 1988, when Yehoshua was fourteen years old, he and his family immigrated to Israel, fulfilling a childhood dream. The family arrived at an absorption center in Ashkelon, where she lived for a year and then moved to Ashdod. Yehoshua was a very gentle boy. He had two loves: his love for music, especially Indian music and Hebrew songs, and his love for Westerns and movies about Indians. He was a very sociable boy. He had many high school friends who shared his love and spent time watching movies and listening to music. They also spent a lot of time on the beach. On August 9, 1992, Yehoshua enlisted in the army and was sent to serve in the Border Police. He did not talk about his desire to serve in a certain unit, but when he arrived at the Border Police he was very pleased and decided to invest in the army. His friends always laughed and used to say that “he has green blood, because he was poisoned by the Border Police.” He was always careful to say that he was “not a policeman, but a border policeman.” After basic training, Yehoshua was assigned to serve in the 26th Battalion in Gaza, from where he was sent to a squad commanders course, which he graduated with honors. During his service in Gaza he was injured by a stone thrown at him. Nevertheless, he insisted on reaching the formation of the undercover unit and passed it with honors. His teammate Bian Madi wrote: “The determination that characterized you was manifested in an event where you were hurt … The good will to contact terrorists in a courageous way brought about your injury … a show of fighting spirit … stood out above all of you professionally and especially in your personality.” In September 1994, Yehoshua finished the course of the undercover unit as a model apprentice. He saw the service in this unit as a real challenge and said: “This is an opportunity to be in a unit that affects the field, which really protects the state’s security.” In October 1994 he joined the undercover unit in Judea and Samaria. He soon left a great impression on the unit and said: “A guy who will not give up and will meet any challenge.” In July 1998 he completed a basic tracking course. Yehoshua was sent to a paramedics course and returned to the unit, first as the medic of the unit and later as a team medic, and eventually became the symbol of the 60th team. Life … adhering to the highest and most important goal of all – saving lives! ” He died in service at the age of 25 on 26 Tevet, 13.1.1999. (For full memorial, see Hebrew biography)