Kabsa, Yosef (‘Yossi’)

Son of Itzhak and Varda. He was born in Morocco in 1956. In 1962 he immigrated with his family to Israel. The family settled in Ashkelon. Here he attended elementary school. After a few years he joined his sister, who was a member of Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan, where he completed his elementary studies. He continued to study at the high school in Kfar Ata and completed his high school at Kibbutz Yagur. Yossi’s childhood and adolescence were wandering, and after the father’s death, the family also suffered many hardships. But Yossi remained a cheerful and optimistic young man, he fit in nicely everywhere and managed to create warm friendships with everyone. At the beginning of November 1975, he was drafted into the IDF and assigned to the infantry, and received a platoon commander’s training course. His commanders believed that he was “an outstanding fighter, outstanding in his physical fitness and acquired extensive professional experience during his service, was honest and fair in his relations with his friends, always smiling, even during the most difficult training hours.” On the 11th of Adar 2, 5738 (March 19, 1978), during operations in the Litani operation, a force from the battalion came to clean up the terrorist barrels in Kafr Qana. During the operation Yossi was hit by terrorists and fell. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery on Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan. He was survived by a mother, four brothers and five sisters. In a letter of condolence to the family, the then Minister of Defense, Ezer Weizman, wrote: “On behalf of the Prime Minister, the Government of Israel and my name, allow me to participate with all my Lev in the mourning of your taking away Yosef. Sergeant Yosef Kabsa gave his life for his homeland. He fell in battle in Kafr Qana in southern Lebanon. Sergeant Yosef Kabsa served in the 202nd Infantry Regiment. He was an excellent soldier, a model friend and loved by everyone he knew. “His commander wrote:” Sergeant Yosef Kabsa was one of the main soldiers in his company. During his service in the unit, he stood out as an outstanding fighter and a honest and decent man, who was admired by all his friends. The commanders of the unit, and you, all the soldiers of the battalion, grieve and grieve for his fall. “In his memory, the family acquired the chair of Elijah the Prophet, intended for circumcision ceremonies.