Oded, son of Batya and Yaakov, was born on the 19th of Tishrei 5746 (19.9.45) in Tel Aviv. To the delight of the parents, who had lost a son in a road accident before the birth of Oded. He studied at the Carmel School in the city until he was ten years old. He was a quiet, focused, sociable, curious boy. In 1955 the family moved to the area, in a small house, surrounded by a large garden. Oded began studying at the Shiva School and soon became an outstanding student who was also active in the various committees of the student company. When he was eleven, Oded joined the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement. He completed his elementary studies at the Tchernichovsky School in Tel Aviv. When he went to study at the New High School in Tel Aviv, he increased his public activity. He joined the youth parliament of the high schools in Tel Aviv and was elected chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Within the framework of this parliament, Oded worked hard to maintain the academic reserve during his military service. The parliament also chose Oded to serve as Israel’s first youth mayor, organized in the summer of 1963 at the exhibition grounds. Oded loved literature in general and children’s literature in particular, and also liked poetry. His literary tendencies were not merely passive: he wrote poems, legends, and short stories, and wrote essays on Zionism and on values and education in Israel. Oded was also a fan of classical music and light music from bands like the Beatles. He especially liked Hebrew songs from the early days of the state. Oded was in high school. As a result of an injury in a road accident, his military service was postponed, and he began studying at Tel Aviv University, in departments of Middle Eastern history and general history. To finance his studies, he worked as a youth counselor and as a teacher. His public-political career was expressed in his joining the young guard of Mapai and his activities in the student union institutions, and was elected chairman of the National Association in 1966, and was elected Chairman of the Tel Aviv University Association in 1966. In this capacity, he initiated festivals of folk dancing in Israel , Which became a tradition in Tel Aviv, organized congresses of students from Asia and Africa, worked to provide tutoring by students in the suburbs, to adopt Tel Mond prison inmates and to adopt students from Africa, Vietnam, South America and more. he began teaching history at the Herzliya Gymnasium in Tel Aviv and was discovered as a living person And some excellent work not only invested his time and energy but also his heart. He received a teaching certificate and went on to study MA in education Oded was drafted into the IDF in August 1967. Attitudes and studies in the field of education motivated him to engage in educational work in the army as well And he was appointed an education officer of the military boarding school in Tel Aviv. He also continued to teach at the Herzliya high school, as part of his army service. In 1969, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant and was later appointed an education officer of an armored brigade in the Sinai. On the appreciation they had to encourage at the beginning of his career in the army, his superiors say: “He is kind in his behavior, well-versed in his fields of activity, fully identified with the work of education and doing his job properly.” In 1971, Oded began his master’s degree in education. At the end of that year – and he was already serving in the permanent army – he married his girlfriend Mira and moved to Jerusalem. He was very fond of the city and together with friends he would go out on leisure trips in the Judean Desert and the hills of Jerusalem. He and his friends used to organize special night walks for the region. In 1972 he was promoted to the rank of captain and was appointed education officer of the Armored Corps. His main task was to provide for the educational needs of soldiers living in Sinai and to provide them with literature, performances, lectures, films and any other spiritual activity that would make it easier for them to sit in the field for a long time. He initiated the establishment of the Armor Armored Corps and taught the soldiers who do not speak Hebrew. He also initiated the establishment of an educational school in Jaffa for soldiers of the Corps. After his death, the Midrasha was named after him – Beit Oded. In July 1973, he and his wife and other friends initiated an action aimed at moving the residents to a development town in the south of the country, in order to improve the lives of the residents. The motive for this idea was the search for Zionist goals that had to be realized. Oded saw assistance for youth as failing and improving the quality of life of the residents of development towns. In an opinion written by Oded’s superiors in July 1972, he said that he was “carrying out a revolution” in armored corps in all areas of education, with his main efforts being directed to the areas of public relations, education and advertising. On the second day of the Yom Kippur War, on October 7, 1973, at dawn, Oded fell. He was injured in an accident that happened to the vehicles that led to the Suez Canal accompanied by military reporters and photographers. He was 28 years old. He was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. Survived by a wife and son (born nine days after his fall and named after him – Oded-Ran), parents and sister. After his death he was promoted to the rank of Major. In a letter of condolences to the wife and parents, the defense minister wrote: “Oded z” l served as chief education officer in the Armored Corps headquarters. He was defined by his commanders as an entrepreneur and an excellent educator. He has greatly promoted the educational activities, having an extraordinary personality, with good ideas and great energy. He was loved by all. “
