Inbar, Yair

Yair, son of Sara (Medi) and Yosef (Yosho), was born on 27.6.1946 in Kibbutz Givat Haim. On 29.6.1946 – “Black Sabbath” – when members of Givat Haim were taken to detention in Latrun, including Yosho, who two days earlier, had a son, but had not yet seen him. Mother too, gave the name Yair, hoping for more bright Shabbat. Only five weeks later, the father was released from detention and first saw his baby. Yair was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in mid-November 1964 and was assigned to the Armored Corps, where he completed a tank training course and a tank commanders’ course, after which he was sent to an officer’s course. “He wrote to his parents,” that I do not take for granted the efforts and love that you invest in me. Every package I receive from you is an event, and every vacation at home – an experience.” In the Six-Day War he fought the southern division that broke through the Mitla crossing and at the same time ran his own “war diary” – laconic, concentrated and full of bleak facts. Yair finished his compulsory service at the end of 1967. He finally returned home to the warm family, the groves, the friends, the cultural activities, all the things he missed. He served as a coordinator of factories in the youth department, and this year was fateful for him, and suddenly he discovered the world outside the kibbutz and Gai “We had long conversations on the subject,” his friends said, “and talking to Yair is an experience. You are not only enriching your mind but your heart. He felt his sensitivity, his desire to understand and to convince. It was a conversation that had a good and healthy relationship. “He finally decided, out of pain and agony, to leave for a year off, and this year he decided to build his future outside the economy. At the same time, he studied business administration at Tel Aviv University, where he married his girlfriend Ziva, and the two hoped for a beautiful future while building their home in Tel Aviv and maintaining contact with the kibbutz. As a tank commander on the northern front on the 23rd of Tishrei 5734 (October 19, 1973), his company was ordered to board and take up positions on Tel Antar. Before they could advance, an Iraqi force, already on the mound, began firing at close range. The tanks returned fire from guns and machine guns and charged up the hill. Anti-tank fire hit his tank during an assault and Yair fell, and he was brought to rest in the Givat Hayim-Ihud cemetery, leaving behind a wife, parents and two brothers. After his death he was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant.