Madar, Haim

Son of Yakota and Sassi. He was born in Tunisia on the 8th of Cheshvan 5707 (November 2, 1946.) He grew up in Tunisia and immigrated to Israel in 1964. In November 1967 Haim enlisted in the Israel Defense Force and served in the Border Police, where he continued to serve in the IDF as part of the career army. He was a courageous man, and a loved person. His commander told of him: “Always at the center of things, taking care of the policemen, helping the commanders by his experience and his calm, gives the feeling that there is still another factor in the thinking team.” During his service Haim received several awards: “The Yom Kippur War”, “Operation Service Award” and “Peace of Galilee”. Haim was married to Yaffa and over the years they had three children: Yehudit, Yaariyet and Assaf. They lived in Shefer. Haim loved his family more than anything else. He was an example of his love for his family and his mental strength, and this was evident when in 1974, Haim’s two younger brothers, David and Yehudit, were killed when the IDF took over terrorists holding students hostage in Ma’alot. On the morning of the 25th of Heshvan 5743 (11.11.1982), during the Peace for Galilee War, an explosion occurred in a building in the city of Tire, where the Israeli military government and many IDF forces were located. The building collapsed and about 100 people were killed, including seventy-six members of the Israeli security forces. Haim was thirty-six years old when he died. He was buried in the new cemetery in Safed. Survived by a wife and three children. Haim’s commander said in his eulogy: “Actually, Haim did not have to serve in Lebanon because of the Ma’alot incident in which his brother and sister were killed, but he could not stand being the outside one.” In memory of Haim, it was decided, with the assistance of the Merom Hagalil Regional Council, to call a street in the Biriya neighborhood of Safed named Haim Madar Street.