Levi, Yaakov-Eliahu (Jackie)

Yaakov, son of Lydia and Shlomo z “l, was born in Tel Aviv on December 30, 1953. He completed his elementary studies at the AD Gordon School in Daughter of-Yam and completed his high school studies at home – High School-Urban A, also in Daughter of-Yam. Jackie, as affectionately called his family and friends, was a gifted child who loved to sing and recite while he was still in a nursery. The teacher wished she would leave him after two years of familiarity and affection between them, so she suggested to Jackie’s mother to leave him for another year. When he went to elementary school he was ready to learn, after three years of playing games, and he devoted himself entirely to the new challenge. Jackie had his own way of doing his homework; he used to lie on the rug, his head against the floor below him. His notebooks excelled in curls and ornaments. When he was just eight years old, he joined the Scouts youth movement and was an active participant in all the events at the movement’s “nest”. When he was nine, he began to play guitar. He received his lessons during his free time, including a trainee. Jackie had other hobbies: he liked drawing and writing essays and he liked to run long distances, especially on the 800-meter course. He joined the “Hapoel” and participated in many sports activities, including long-distance swimming and cycling. Jackie graduated with honors, and his horizons widened when he moved to high school. In high school he excelled in learning English, Arabic and French. He loved grammar and excelled in history as well. He and the history teacher developed a relationship of deep mutual appreciation, which was expressed in long and serious debates. No one raised his voice in these arguments and Jackie would weigh every word he said, and so did the teacher. He completed his matriculation certificate with the aim of Orientalism, and enrolled in the academic reserve for this trend. He had many friends, with whom he used to drink beer-when it was forbidden. He went with them to live evenings, to sing with his guitar and to spend time. They were the “secret trio”. His friends especially remember his infectious laughter. They called this laugh “Chinese Doll Laughter,” in a selection of words they created for use by the group. Jackie had a long time left to enlist, and all his requests for enlistment had been rejected because of his young age. He therefore volunteered to serve in the Nahal, as the most natural and understandable thing, for he had been educated since childhood. Jackie found friends in the nucleus and immediately joined the new company. In 1970 his father died. Yaakov was drafted into the IDF in mid-November 1971. After completing basic training and after completing combat training course and parachuting course, he was assigned to serve as a rifleman and also as a combat medic in the paratrooper Nahal Brigade. Here, too, he made extensive and extensive social connections, and especially befriended the doctor at the clinic. They talked for a long time, and when the moment came when Jackie had to go with his friends, the doctor parted with great sorrow. During his vacations, Jackie used to jump home and demand the safety of his mother and brother, and immediately went on to his kibbutz, to his “guys” from the core. Jackie did not share his problems with his family and always showed himself healthy and Simcha. Only his friends heard the story of the parachute that had not been opened one day before, and endangered his life. In the Yom Kippur War, Jackie left the armored personnel carrier to rescue wounded and dead from Tel a-Saki in the Golan Heights On October 7, 1973, his friend, Zvika, was injured in the attack. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery of Kibbutz Tzora, leaving behind a mother, brother and sister, who was promoted to the rank of corporal in a letter of condolences to the bereaved family: “We knew Yaakov as a man and as a soldier, “His family and kibbutzPublished a booklet in his memory.