Levin, Avi (Avraham)

Son of Dalia and Haim. Born on December 5, 1966 in Ashdod. A brother to Eilat and Rakefet. My father was born on the first night of Chanukah. The beloved third child is spoiled by his parents and two sisters. My father was a blond boy with blue eyes, intelligent and dreamy. When he was nine months old, the family moved to Eilat following the work of his father, who was the manager of the heavy machinery of the open mine in Timna. At the age of four, my father used to play and build Lego for hours. He was a big, curious mischievous watchmaker, unloading clocks, especially pendulum clocks, to see what was activating the clock mechanism. Before he went to school, he had already read and identified letters in Hebrew and English and could identify all kinds of cars passing by. My father was loved and accepted by the children he grew up in. Since the family lived in Eilat and spent a long time at the beach, my father learned to swim at an early age. In grades 1-3 he studied in Eilat. He read and wrote very quickly, asked to be bought newspapers and encyclopedias – these were his reading materials and enriched his world. My father had a phenomenal memory and was opinionated. Since he had been reading newspapers since first grade, he had an opinion on every subject. Throughout his life, my father has studied every subject in depth and was “a secret pit that does not lose a drop.” When he moved to fourth grade, the family moved to Arad, and his father Haim ran the phosphate mines in Oron. In Arad my father enrolled in riding lessons and throughout the summer rode his bike and swam in the pool. When the school year began, he joined the children’s company. In the fourth grade, he successfully passed the gifted tests, and for three years he studied once a week in a gifted class his age at Ben Gurion University in Be’er Sheva. Among other things, Avi chose a course in topography and excelled in reading maps and tour routes. My father was very attached to his maternal grandfather, Yosef Keren, who was a teacher of geography, and from there he sucked on the love of the country, its paths and ways. He was very independent and from the fifth grade he took public transportation to his studies in Be’er Sheva. During his spare time, he participated in activities of the Hanoar Haoved movement as an apprentice and at one point became a counselor. He took the school vacations out of work. He was a diligent boy and, apart from the various jobs in which he worked, served as a babysitter for the neighbors’ children. He was always characterized by very high integrity and responsibility for his actions. My father graduated from elementary and junior high school in Arad and studied at the ORT Comprehensive School in Arad for Mildred and Arthur Zimmtbaum in a biological-biological track. Then my father began preparing for military service. He and his friends would go to the desert in the Arad area, walk, run and improve their physical fitness. My father bought an abseiling kit and went out with a friend to go down the cliffs. In September 1984, he enlisted in a Nahal Brigade combat unit, and at the end of the basic training and operational stages, Avi was chosen from among his core members to take a course for squad commanders. On a sports day that took place during the course he was pushed, fell, and injured in the knee Miniscus. My father underwent surgery to repair the tear in his knee and continued the course. As soon as he finished, he went to the Infantry Officers Course at Training Base 1 (training base). His knowledge of topography and familiarity with the field led to his appointment in the Intelligence Corps, first as a soldier from the Nahal Brigade, and later as a full-time intelligence officer, and when he enlisted, he returned to his bicycle, : Swimming, cycling and running, he used to ride a mountain bike and even opened paths for KKL-JNF in the Carmel. The father of the shark also tried to engage in riding sports in the Command Intelligence Unit and its personnel. Avi went to a training course for intelligence officers in the field of research, and from 1988-1990 served in the IDF commandVon began as a war room officer in the command intelligence and later as an officer in the Galilee formation from August 1991. There he met Lilach – later his wife and mother of his daughters. From 1992 to 1990, my father served as a brigade intelligence officer of the 300th Brigade, and received the rank of captain in short, for the Independence Day of 1990. Between the years 1992-1993 he served as a guide in the field training course and the army was then sent to Bar-Ilan University for academic studies in the Department of Middle East and Political Science. At the end of his studies, Avi and Lilach were married, and a year later the twins were born, Shir and Noam, and in 2003 Maya was born. During his service, Avi visited Germany as an IDF officer, touring with his German hosts in the Dachau camp, which was of great significance to him because his father, Chaim, a Holocaust survivor, was in the ghetto and in labor camps. Dresden, Germany, to the Terezinstadt camp in Czechoslovakia. When he was thirteen years old, the camp was liberated. Haim immigrated to Israel and arrived at Kibbutz Ashdot Ya’akov. He later married Dalia, a kibbutz member, as a woman. Following the emotional visit, my father wrote to his father saying, “Father, you won! When the Germans have to learn from the son of a survivor, you defeated them.” His father Chaim was very proud of his son’s military progress. Between 1997 and 1995, he served as a lieutenant colonel in Judea and Samaria with the rank of Major. His next job was the head of the warning division and the Palestinians in the Zitr (Terrorist Activity). Between 2000 and 2002, Avi was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served as head of the hostile terrorist activity and autonomy division. From 2004 to 2004 he served as the head of the research division, and from 2004 to 2004 he served as the intelligence officer of the Galilee Division, where my father’s unique weight was crucial in achieving the results of the Second Lebanon War. In the years 2006-2009, Avi was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed commander of the Southern Command during Operation Cast Lead. Avi served in the Southern Command under the command of Major General Yoav Galant, who said: “We spent many hours together … Observations in the Gaza Strip, Tours on the western and eastern borders of Yesh Training, endless discussions around elusive intelligence, joint construction of new capabilities that combine intelligence and the precise operational action that results from it, sudden flights to the field, meetings with our members in various intelligence bodies, reviews and explanations to IDF officials and foreign visitors , And more. In addition to the intensive work that stems from intensive military service, friendships with commanders and staff officers are also formed in the leisure time between the activities: joint sports training, cycling that my father loved and excelled in, soccer games and of course my friends’ talk, meetings of commanders and families. “Avi was in charge of the intelligence department and all its operations during a dynamic operational period: during the preparation stages of the command and the forces for Operation Cast Lead, and in the operation itself, Avi proved proficient in his work and was sensitive to harm to the civilian population In June 2009, Major General Amos Y., Lin, head of intelligence, assessment letter which he wrote to my father: “I watched in amazement after preparation and quality work the department prior to the operation. I observed with satisfaction the manner in which you conducted intelligence in all its dimensions: alert, assessment, intelligence for operations, field intelligence, intelligence for purposes and full participation in the work doneLol. Avi contributed to the lessons learned from the operation, and in 2009 went on to study at the National Security College, a college that prepares officers for the most senior positions in the IDF. Maj. Gen. Yadlin said that Avi was designated for a central position in the research division: “The appointment for this position reflected my absolute confidence in Avi to lead a complex and important role in Military Intelligence. My absolute trust in Avi and his admiration for me led me to ask him to work in the college on the important issue of ethics in fighting terror in the mirror of Operation Cast Lead. Despite his skills, my father was a modest man with a genuine integrity who could show his commanders, without fear, his position, even if it was different from their position. His demands on himself were very high and he set himself unique standards as a commander and a professional. “My father was a warm family man who took a central place in his life, was a loving father to his daughters, raised them on foot and bicycle, and immersed in them the love of the country. Wine, and wine, who was able to pamper his family with gourmet delicacies, my father, who was admired by his surroundings and who impressed everyone he met, was a generous and generous person who loved life and listened to his commanders, colleagues and subordinates. .) Colonel Avi Levin fell in the line of duty when he was forty-three. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh. Survived by Raya – Lilach, three daughters – Shir, Noam and Maya, mother – Dalia and two sisters – Eilat and Rakefet. In his farewell speech, Maj. Gen. Yadlin said: “… Colonel Avi Levin is a symbol and a model for a commander who saw intelligence as a profession, deepened learning and reached the level of ‘intelligence master.'” But even more, my father always recognized the difficult places, And volunteered to serve in it without hesitation and without taking into consideration considerations of his personal well-being and price … My father knew how to provide the necessary intelligence at all levels – strategic, operational and tactical. Looked for every way to contribute to the State and the IDF, and aspired to impress upon the education and nurturing of the generation of future commanders of Military Intelligence. ” GOC Southern Command Yoav Galant also delivered a eulogy at the funeral: “In his excellent military service, my father alternated between central positions and main stations in the IDF’s intelligence apparatus … In all these places his signature was evident and his personality was prominent and his actions were deep and defined, Clear path and direction to those who followed him; In my last two positions, my father was required to take on leadership and professional challenges of the highest caliber during war … My father met the challenges in an admirable way – his ability to focus on isolated events and analyze them in detail was integrated into a broad and strategic understanding of the operational situation and the other … In front of my eyes, smiling with that modest and unique smile, and your voice echoing in my ears as if from our constant assessments of the situation – presenting the data safely, assessing the trends in a clear and reserved way, always leaving room for doubt, other opinion, and critical thinking. For me, you were a strong supporter, an intelligence authority, a man of field and a profession … But beyond the professional, demanding, demanding side, you were the father of a personal spirit of achievement and competitiveness, striving for perfection and full success, qualities that you brought with you from home to your military service … You are my father, and this is how you will live forever in my mind – as a person, as a commander and as a friend. “” A brave fighter, an outstanding intelligence officer, a friend and an outstanding athlete, “said Major General Gershon Hacohen, commander of the Northern Corps.Brown wrote to Lilach: “My father was a model throughout his military service, and during his studies at the National Security College, he was outstanding in his thinking and analysis skills, and through them he was very appreciative of the situation of the enemy and was able to provide professional support for the decision-making of his commanders. My father was personally responsible and involved, and successfully fulfilled the main challenges the IDF has faced in the battlefields of the last two decades. Avi has held key positions in combat … As the crowning glory of his professional achievements, his contribution to the Southern Command in the two years preceding Operation Cast Lead, in the planning and execution of the operations; As well as preparing a complex and unique infrastructure for the opening of the operation and for the exemplary management of the intelligence complex in the Southern Command throughout the operation. We shall remember my father, his beauty, his purity of heart, his burden and his death with people – who was always in his own right; His determination and his steadfast professional standing alongside his pleasant manner and his always pleasant face. “