Levi, Maayan

Son of Ruth and Siman-Tov Raphael Hai. He was born on 25.6.1983 in Jerusalem. Brother to Roi and Matan. After five painful years in which his parents tried to bring a child into the world, Maayan was born and brought great joy to the family. As the eldest son of his parents and grandson in the firstborn, he was the fountain of a prince in his family. When he was one and a half years old, his brother Roi was born and they grew up like twins. Maayan went out playing with friends only rarely because of his mother’s concern. He liked to read books and learn, a love that went on with him as an adult. Another hobby was to fly small airplanes and airplanes with his father and brother Roy. He had a special relationship with Maayan and his grandparents, whom he loved to visit. Maayan studied at the Gilo B Elementary School in Gilo and continued at the six-year Makif Gilo School in Jerusalem. His educator at the junior high school, Vardit Turgeman, wrote about him during this period: “As the spring that grows and multiplies, you were full of knowledge and wisdom from which the whole class was taught … Showing maturity and nobility both in your behavior and in your performance … Your inner beauty is also a lamb In the transition to high school it was clear that you, Maayan, who was outstanding, would continue to the elite class. ” Maayan stood out in front of those around him as a handsome young man, tall and sturdy but modest and modest, shy and shy, a responsible, sensitive and wise boy. Adi Ben-David, coordinator in high school, described him as “an adult, serious and responsible child. The one that can always be trusted, who always helps everyone, volunteers for every mission, big and small.” He chose to study in an advanced biology track and completed his thesis in Ya’elim in the Dead Sea area, where he completed his matriculation exams with great success. On Thursday, June 19, 2003, at dawn, a group exercise was carried out by soldiers of the Shaham Battalion, which were in the “advanced training” stage at the training base of the Nahal Brigade near Arad. In the course of the exercise, one of Maayan’s soldiers, who lay next to him, fired at a stationary forward target, and the investigation revealed that a malfunction occurred and a “machine gun” was created in which the weapon continued to fire on its own, even after the operator stopped pulling the trigger. While the soldier tried to take control of the machine gun, one of his legs folded and the machine gun turned and fired at an angle of ninety degrees. Maayan, who was lying next to the gunner, was seriously wounded by a bullet in the neck, and the medical forces of the base were dispatched to treat him, but on that day, 19 Sivan, Maayan died. On the Shabbat before Maayan was killed, his mother talked to him about how they would celebrate his birthday. Maayan told her, “You’ll know I love you,” a phrase he had never said before. Maayan’s family got up from the shiva on his birthday. He was twenty years old when he fell. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. For full memorial, see Hebrew bio.