Eliyahu, son of Zissel (Naomi) and Zindel (Ben Zion), a Holocaust survivor, was born on 24 March 1952 in Tel Aviv. He attended the “Etzion” religious elementary school and continued his high school studies at Yeshivat Bnei Akiva “Nahal Yitzhak” in Moshav Nachalim. At the end of his matriculation exams, he decided to continue his high school studies, along with military service in the IDF, and he joined the “Kotel” Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which is a hesder yeshiva. At the age of 8 he started afternoon Gemara lessons with a Rav who came several afternoons a week, and his strong interest in stories of chazal never diminished. At the same time he started violin lessons, and continued playing and singing music until the day he was killed. From the stories of his friends and testimonies close to him, a unique figure emerges, in which there is a rare combination of traits. At the age of twenty-one years, a perfection was already apparent in him, which is usually revealed only in people who have a long and varied life experience. Eli was extremely honest, sincere and had a firm faith in the choice of his spiritual path. He was not only a brilliant talmid hakham, but also realized in his actions the social and human values on which he was educated. He was very successful in his yeshiva studies and frequently published articles in the field of Jewish thought, in brochures that the Yeshiva usually publishes. His love of Israel, God, and Torah became the dominant line in his personality and guiding him in his life. He is as meticulous as Iod in performing the mitzvot, out of joy and genuine enthusiasm, in every condition and in every situation. Many who have been blessed to pray with him testify that this was a rare experience. “It was possible to realize the love that was in his prayer, the rich tone of confidence and faith and the elation,” wrote his brother-in-law, Yeshayahu Tishler. Eli loved his family very much and was meticulous about honoring parents. He used to visit them at every opportunity and often write to them, to tell them about his activities and seek their welfare. Eliahu was drafted into the IDF at the end of July 1971 and volunteered for the paratroop brigade. After basic training, and after undergoing a course in the Armored Corps, he was assigned to the Armored Corps. As he excelled at the yeshiva, so he did in the army. He surprised everyone with his physical fitness, the high grades he had achieved in the various courses, and his ability as a fighter. The tank crew with whom he was a member was the best in the battalion. It was hard to resist Eli’s charm, and in his meetings with non-religious young people, he managed, in his pleasant, non-missionary way, to evoke in them a Jewish consciousness and to make them value their Jewishness, and to consider and evaluate in a new light their attitude toward the Jewish religion. It was indeed difficult to remain indifferent to the sight of Eli the student, in the midst of bitter fighting in the Sinai, kneeling in the tank, with his ‘Pirkei Avot” – and after the battles the company commander said with great emotion how, for the twelve days he spent with him Eli completely transformed his whole anti-religious world view. Eli’s calm, his cool, his confidence In the Yom Kippur War, and his faith in the eternity of Israel were like a powerful rock of faith for him. Eli took part in the battles of containment and infiltration in the Sinai, in the role of the tank gunner “Centurion.” On the 18th of Tishrei 5740 (18.10.1973), when crossing the Suez Canal, the vessel was hit by an artillery shell and his tanks and another, fell on. Eli was brought to rest in the military section of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and left behind his parents and a sister.
