Keren (Kirshenbaum) Benny (Benjamin)
Son of Zelig and Tova. He was born on February 6, 1950 in the city of Vilna, Russia, and when he was nine he immigrated with his family to Eretz Israel. After living for about a year in Kiryat Gat, the family moved to Herzliya. My son attended the Weizmann elementary school and was an outstanding student, so it was decided to send him to a boarding school for talented gifted boys named May Boyer in Jerusalem. Even in the new and foreign environment, Benny quickly integrated into social life and excelled in his studies. He would organize social life, play accordion, and engage in various sports activities, especially basketball. Soon he became an Israeli young man and loved his friends, teachers and mentors. Despite the disasters that were inflicted upon him one by one, his father died of diabetes and a few years later his mother died of a Lev attack. My son did not lose his energy and vitality and his strong desire to “do things in the world.” Benny enlisted in the IDF in the middle of August 1968. He completed a platoon commander’s course, a moving artillery artillery course, an advanced artillery course and an officer’s course, completing compulsory military service and continuing with courses, training and military advancement. Among other things, he completed a parachuting course, an artillery officer’s course and an air inspectors course. He also underwent training abroad and was awarded the operational service certificate. Finally he was appointed commander of a mobile artillery battery. In every position he filled, he was very successful and could inspire an atmosphere of seriousness and security around him. He excelled in the field of “human relations” and made sure to take care of his subordinates much more than necessary. At the head of his army, Benny moved to various combat zones in the north and south, successfully carrying out the difficult, complex and dangerous tasks that were imposed on him. On the 14th of Shvat 573 (14.1.1973), my son fell in the line of duty and was put to rest in the military cemetery in Netanya. He left a wife. His commander wrote in a letter of condolence to the family: “My son was one of the only officers who, from the start, it was clear that an excellent commander was growing up for us.”
