Horenstein, Avraham

Avraham, son of Olga and Moshe, was born on October 18, 1953. He studied at the Beit Yehezkel Elementary School in the Afridar neighborhood and completed his studies at the Targar high school in Ashkelon. Avraham, who has a great sense of humor, was loved by all, and has devoted a great deal of time to sports and especially to table tennis, in which he has achieved great achievements, participated in many competitions and was crowned Lieutenant Southern District. He had a warmth and love for each person, and he had an intimate relationship with many friends, for his friendship was based on sincerity, openness and candor. He was a sensitive young man who had great seriousness and yet was a partner in the tricks of adolescence, and after graduating from high school he went to work and until his induction into the IDF he saved a considerable sum of money. He joined the IDF in early February 1972 and volunteered for the Armored Corps. After basic training, he was trained to serve as a liaison officer in a tank. During the period of his military service, he maintained calm and peace of mind, and the tension of training and operational activity gave him an atmosphere of security and tranquility. Shortly after he began his army service, his father fell ill, and Avi spent all his vacations at his father’s bedside. Avi’s commanders, who knew his special situation, helped him and gave him as many vacations as possible. My father gave up vacation and a series of education to feed his father, who needed intensive medical care. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Avi sat at the bedside of his sick father. When the siren sounded he stood up, packed his things, and headed for his unit. His mother, who had tried to stop him, ran into his big pair of eyes, which seemed to say, “War, I have to go.” He joined his comrades in the unit and together they participated in the battles of containment and infiltration against the Egyptians in the Sinai. In a battle that took place in the southern sector of the Suez Canal on October 12, 1973, six days before his 20th birthday, Avi was killed instantly by a direct hit of an anti-tank missile on the left side of his tank. He was buried in the military cemetery in Ashkelon.