Levi, Gadi
The youngest son of Chana and Menashe, he was born on 20.3.1962 in Holon. Gadi attended the “Meginim” Elementary School in Holon, and graduated from Mikveh Israel High School. He was a lively child, handsome and graceful. With his many friends, Gadi performed pranks, and even demonstrated his courage when he climbed into the head of a tower (a chimney of a hospital built at the same time) on a dark night. Love for nature and flowers was born in him as a child. Gadi liked to go out early in the morning to the green fields, see the flowers bloom and listen to the chirping of the birds. In his youth he joined Hashomer Hatzair and traveled extensively throughout the country. These trips were an appropriate opportunity for Gadi to study and teach. One of his friends recalls a trip they took on foot from Beit Shemesh to Ness Harim. The hard, rocky road wound through mountains and valleys, and Gadi showed a high level of familiarity with the terrain and a deep knowledge of the flora and fauna that came their way. Gadi had a great collection of butterflies and so much was his love for life that when he went on a trip to the United States, he did not forget to take a net with him … to hunt butterflies and add them to the collection. Gadi joined the IDF in the middle of September 1980 and joined the Nahal Brigade, where he underwent basic training and a battalion commander’s course, and was sent to serve in the Tulion outpost. In the settlement, Gadi found extensive scope for developing his skills. He built a greenhouse without the proper materials, in both hands, and the greenhouse survived the storms, while another greenhouse, established by “experts” who came from outside, collapsed under it. He straightened the land and prepared it for planting grass, but the highlight of his work was the cactus rock that had become famous. His dream was to establish a hothouse and combine a livelihood with a hobby. Even when he came home for vacations, he cultivated the garden next to the family home in Holon. His commanders in the army applauded him as “a quiet soldier who loved his job and performed it in a responsible manner, to the satisfaction of his commanders.” On the 21st of Menachem Av 5742 (August 10, 1982), Sgt. Gadi fell in battle in Lebanon during the Peace for Galilee War and was brought to eternal rest in the military cemetery in Holon. He left behind his parents and two brothers. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander said that “Gadi was a good commander and served as a good example among his soldiers and his comrades, who volunteered for missions and performed them in the best possible way.” His family established in his memory a monument and a cactus garden in Mikve Israel. The family also established a fund that provides scholarships to outstanding students at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school, who continue on their way and are well versed in landscaping. The scholarships are distributed every year on Gadi’s birthday. His friends and family published a memorial book bearing his name – “Gadi” – stories of his life and memoirs.
