Son of Nurit and Sheila, he was born on the 23rd of Elul 5732 (23.8.1972) in Petach Tikvah to a national-religious family. Significant figures in the design of Yoav’s character were his grandfather, the linguist and famous author of puzzles, Hillel Harshoshanim, and his grandmother Sarah Man. When Yoav was five, his family moved to Elkana in western Samaria, and was among the first forty families there. The social and communal atmosphere and education in the Yishuv were integrated into the home and parents’ backgrounds, and they influenced and instilled in Yoav a system of social and national values that had been his guiding principle throughout his life. Life in front of open expanses of land has left him with a great love for nature, for animals, for flora and fauna, for the landscapes of the Land of Israel and its benefits, and above all for man as a human being. Yoav began his studies at the elementary school in Elkana and finished sixth grade. Even then, his special personality and leadership abilities stood out. Yoav was not a diligent pupil, but in the fields that interested him, he deepened his knowledge and invested all his energies in them. His works were praised and admired. As a child, Yoav admired the image of Napoleon and missed no opportunity to read and learn about him. He even adopted the slogan of the historical figure: “Ask me everything, just not time.” Another statement adopted by R. Shlomo Ibn Gvirol: “The will is the Divine power that invents everything, and drives everything.” Yoav showed great independence and junior high school years. He chose to study at the “Youth Center” in Jerusalem, an institution that suited his independent character and greatly influenced his development. In “Youth Center” a student-friend, Lior, who immigrated from Ethiopia in “Operation Moses”, became a member of the family. While studying in Jerusalem, Yoav received a decision to study at a military boarding school, but in the face of his family’s objections, he enrolled in the ninth grade at the “Amit” technological school at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan. His parents to agree to his studies at the military boarding school near the Or Etzion Yeshiva at the Shapira Center, and so Yoav fulfilled his will and studied in grades 10-12 with great success in this framework. With his determination and willpower, he stuck to the backwardness of a school year, both in academic and military matters. The combination of a military boarding school and a yeshiva, all of whose rabbis came from combat units and many of its graduates became officers, suited Yoav’s spirit and opened up a whole new world in which he expressed all his personality traits. The agenda of the meeting was packed with prayers, Jewish studies and general studies, and their integration into military training. Yoav showed tremendous enthusiasm for every role and task he received. He had an eternal smile on his face and was not removed even in difficult moments. He grew up and became a tall, handsome young man, with an impressive presence, with a highly developed and serious sense of humor in his work. His friends called him by the nicknames “HaRash” and “Hashrosh.” Yoav believed with all his heart that everything should be given to the people of Israel and the state and fit well into the framework he chose. He was a warm and loving man who helped others and extended his hand to all those who wanted, both ambitious and humble, and his physical ability and mental maturity expanded his fields of activity and interest. He was a member of the Israel Diving Association, and although he did not study art and painting from his time, he began to paint with great skill and to scribble wherever he could, with everything he encountered. His innate life began to pluck the guitar and play the harmonica, even if he sometimes forged A man of the Greater Land of Israel, but a true manAnd hoped for his arrival. He was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Rabbi Chaim Druckman, the Rosh Yeshivah in which he was educated, said that as early as his youth, Yoav’s special personality was revealed, speaking of truth and heaven. In the framework of the military boarding school he underwent driving and parachuting courses, and after his first aid training he always traveled with a paramedic’s kit and often provided first aid to casualties who encountered him. Yoav aspired to advance and declared his desire to develop a military career and even before his enlistment he committed himself to a three-year career. At the end of October 1990, Yoav enlisted in the IDF, already wearing the rank of corporal and parachute wings, but decided not to wear them in solidarity with his friends. As a graduate of the military boarding school he was given the right to choose the unit in which he would serve. Because of his high numbers, he was invited to an aviation course, but decided to give him up and enlisted in the paratroopers. He was assigned to basic training in the battalions of the 35th Brigade, but despite the resistance of the commander, Yoav succeeded in moving to the infantry unit where he aspired to serve. His insistence on his opinion and the practice of commenting on the sergeant’s course commander prevented him from receiving the outstanding trainee. After an operational service in Lebanon, he completed an officers’ course in which he received the highest grade ever given for impressive work on military thinking. “In contrast to what I was told at Training Base 1, one of the main goals is that the soldiers will also return home safely.” Because of his achievements and high personal level, his commanders asked him to be assigned to the training system at the infantry school. Despite the fact that he was disappointed that he did not return to command in the combat unit, Yoav served as an instructor in a sergeant course and filled other positions, including setting up the unit for use of combat units in combat units. He felt that he was not fulfilling his operational capabilities, and that he wanted to return to operations on the ground, to his brigade of origin, and that his commanders were impressed that he was a true army man who believed in the justice of the road and who never compromised on professionalism and perseverance in the military field. With motivation and a sense of mission, this time as a commanding officer . In November 1993 he received the rank of Lieutenant. He was aware of the dangers of serving in Lebanon, but did not complain and continued to adhere to his faith and his willingness to sacrifice his life for the people and the state. Ambitious and professional, completed his post in February 1994, and was supposed to be appointed as the unit’s operations officer until he left for the IDF commander’s course. He returned to the Reihan post, where his unit served, in order to say goodbye to his soldiers and to agree with his commander to continue his service. He then again demonstrated a personal example and willingness to sacrifice when he fought for his right to volunteer and embark on an operational mission instead of a fellow officer who felt ill. Although he was not required to do so, he embarked on the mission, from which he did not return. On February 7, 1994, Yoav fell in combat in Lebanon, while commanding a reconnaissance force moving between the Reihan and Sujud outposts in the eastern sector of the security zone. The soldiers, who attacked dozens of Hezbollah terrorists, attacked them with anti-tank guns, anti-tank missiles, and mortar shells, and returned fire to the terrorists, organized the force and began skipping towards the enemy until he was hit and killed. His performance in the field under impossible conditions earned him praise from the chief of staff and the chief of staff. Sergeant Tal Cohen, Sergeant Nir Evron and Staff Sergeant Gal Levinson were killed and five others were wounded in the military section of the cemetery in Elkana, where he left his parents and three brothers – the twins Amnon and Tamar and his brotherR – Tsafrir. GOC Northern Command Yitzhak Mordechai told Yoav at his funeral: “You grew up in a home that was brought up to combine Safra and Saifah, and from the dawn of your youth you chose to be in a religious military boarding school where the purpose, the learning, the values and the willingness to fight and defend the State of Israel are combined. I saw you several times while working in Lebanon, and when I asked you what the situation in Elkana was, you answered with pride that the place had expanded and everything was fine.You knew where you were stationed in the security zone to shield and protect the settlements of the northern border. And this is the task that needs to be filled, so every time you need it, you’re there, you’re a people Your friends. ” Commander of the unit where he served, wrote to the family: “Lieutenant Yoav Harshushanim was a combatant and commander in the infantry unit of the Paratroopers Brigade and served most of his service there for about three years. Yoav was not only satisfied with the service of three years, but also continued to contribute as an officer and commander, Yoav served as the commander of the August team For the past seven months, Yoav’s unique character has been prominent both as a commander and as a man who cares for his soldiers – he invests all his energies in them, aspires, is willing and willing to carry out any mission, even the most difficult one, out of faith and love for the Land of Israel and the people of Israel. Was killed in the way that characterized him most of all – charging ahead of his soldiers with determination and fearlessness in front of a L brutal crossfire, up by enemy bullets killed himself. Among his latest Yoav Doug sacrifice his soldiers while under fire, tried to treat his wounded soldiers while fighting enemy … the character and actions of Joab engraved in our hearts forever. ” Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Col. Israel Ziv, described the battle in which Yoav fell: “We are now realizing how difficult this battle was, how complicated it is, how much training we actually do, Yoav found himself with his subordinates. We understand today which personality, what leadership, what resourcefulness was required to command his fighters in the battle without the source, saturated with fire, the difficult battle that Yoav and his fighters found themselves. In the most inferior situation to which the fighters found themselves, the fighters fought back, fired, advanced, and charged towards the enemy. I managed to get to know Yoav, and within a short time I felt a great deal of sympathy and admiration for everything that was and represented for me and for all of us. Yoav symbolized what we all would like to be like, his personality, his image, his leadership, and the way he commands his soldiers. “On the first anniversary of his fall, the head of the Northern Command, Yitzhak Mordechai, said:” It is full of love for the land and the love of the people and for every activity. And I say these things from the first testimony, I interviewed Yoav during the period of activity, and also from a few broken conversations I had with him, and this is the image of the Israeli fighter in this generation, with a tremendous amount of values that he has nurtured. “The press extensively covered the battle that took place, Commemorated the introduction of a Torah scroll to the Eshel Elkana synagogue and many other activities, established an educational-values exhibition called “Combatant, Values and Belief”, which is presented every year elsewhere in Israel – in local authorities, community centers and educational institutions; In cooperation with the community center and the Elkana local council, the family initiated another project to commemorate Yoav – “In my way Yoav Etgarim” – in which frameworkSporting events and various challenges, among other things: an annual nationwide national navigation race, the torch relay of the Torah preparatory program in Elkana and more; In addition, a film was produced entitled “Such was Yoav” describing his life and personality; The family is writing a book commemorating his memory. The “Kiryat Youth” educational institution in Jerusalem awards annually a Yoav scholarship in the field of values and values to an outstanding student. A training room named after Yoav was dedicated to the Infantry School in Yeruham, and one of the companies in the Or Etzion Order was named after him and a forest in his memory was planted in the Ben Shemen Forest. Lectures in schools and IDF camps, and more.
