Daughter of Geula and David. Hadas was born on Wednesday, January 16, 1994, in Ashdod. A third child to her parents and the first daughter in the family. Sister to Tamir, Guy, Shaked, Neta and Geffen.
Hadas grew up in the community of Ezer, located between Ashdod and Ashkelon. She attended the Six-Year Regional High School in Beer Tuvia. She was a young girl with a special and charismatic presence, who was the embodiment of the values in light of which she and her siblings were educated: love, peace, brotherhood and love of country. Over the years, she stood out as an accomplished, kind-hearted, tolerant girl, with leadership ability and joy of life that were an inspiration and attraction to all around her.
Her mother describes her daughter as someone who stood out as an outstanding athlete from an early age: “From the age of three or four she would bring us medals.” Hadas has proven to be an excellent swimmer and a talented basketball player. She has reached high achievements and has been selected several times to represent the school’s basketball team in competitions abroad.
As a child and as a teenager she was highly active in the Bnei Moshavim youth movement, first as an apprentice and later as a counselor. Her father recounts her devotion to the movement: “At a very young age she was sent to a counselor’s course. It trained her for command and leadership. She was so proud of the instructor role and spent days and nights preparing programs and sessions. She did not give up any young members … The members had social or economic difficulties, and she handled it wisely … so it seemed natural to her to continue on a command track in the army as well.”
Along with the many hours she devoted to the movement, Hadas also busied herself in painting and jewelry design, a hobby in which she specialized when she took a goldsmith course at the Shenkar School of Arts.
In 2012, she enlisted in the IDF and was assigned to serve in the Navy, as a naval coordination officer, a position that is mainly office work. Her parents say that the role did not contribute to a sense of satisfaction in their daughter, who dreamed of serving in a combat role: “Hadas wanted to lead, guide, utilize the abilities she acquired in the youth movement and in sports.” For the first seven months of her service, she worked resolutely to be admitted to the Border Police service. After her request was accepted, she was reassigned and began her service in the Border Police, during which she was trained as a fighter in a special patrol unit and border patrol and served in the Jerusalem Envelope. Yaakov, her uncle, recounts: “… we asked her if she was aware that she would have to do re-training and it did not bother her at all. ‘It’s worth it to me’ she would say. She blossomed in her service.”
Hadas excelled in her role and progressed to commanding recruits at the corps’ training base and teams in the Jerusalem Envelope sector. Her mother says of going to a class commanders’ course: “She had a hard time, but she did not complain. When she had to change friends for a shift, she volunteered first, and even on holidays she hardly came home … I would hear her getting ready to go out in the middle of the night, at insane hours. She always said that while her friends go on a post-military trip, she stays in the field to protect the country.”
After her release from regular service, she worked at the port of Ashdod and played basketball for the Hapoel Beer Tuvia team. Three months later she received an offer to return to permanent service in the Border Guard. Despite the reluctance and concern expressed by her relatives, due to the high risk that the job brings with it, she decided to return to service.
On March 22, 2016, Hadas enlisted for permanent service for a period of one and a half years, during which she served as a team commander in the Border Patrol Unit 5, which oversees the southern part of the country and performs missions in the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Her commanders describe her as an outstanding fighter, who strived for excellence and perfection in every mission she performed.
Hadas shared with her family and friends her dreams for the future, after completing her permanent service. She planned to travel around the world and fulfill herself in the field of professional sports. To this end, she studied a course for gym instructors for children and adults, combined with nutrition studies, at the Wingate Institute. Her mother says she supported the fact that her daughter would end the service earlier to start her career in civilian life, due to the fear of the constant danger that was involved in her work. Hadas, on the other hand, was determined to complete her service to the end. Her father says: “She was infused with a sense of mission of defending the State of Israel. Her commanders and subordinates loved her and trusted her.”
Hadas wrote to her subordinates: “Believe in yourself. Mark the goal and start walking towards it. And remember, even if there are difficulties and obstacles it is natural, it is part of the way and sometimes it is what makes the way more interesting.”
Her friends speak of her as a sort of private heroine of a close-knit and loyal group that surrounded her, the only one of them all who chose combat service in the army. Her friend Nofar says: “When we were afraid that she was in Jerusalem and there were terrorist attacks, she laughed and said confidently: ‘Who can attack me?’ … she was our pride, queen … ”
In June 2017, during the days of Ramadan, the month of Muslim fasting, the Border Police forces were reinforced in the Old City area of Jerusalem. On Friday, June 16, 2017, Border Police fighters encountered a hostile terrorist incident around Zedekiah Cave, near the Nablus Gate. The force gathered and began its advance to the scene, when suddenly another terrorist emerged who attacked Hadas. She fought the terrorist but was fatally wounded. Emergency crews provided her with medical treatment at the scene and she was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, where she was pronounced dead several hours later.
Sergeant Major Hadas Malka fell in battle on June 16, 2017, in an encounter with terrorists near the Nablus Gate in Jerusalem. She was twenty-three years old. She was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ashdod, her hometown. She is survived by her parents, two brothers and three sisters.
She was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant Major after her fall.
Her father David eulogized: “We were privileged to raise an amazing girl for twenty-three years … We admired you for who you are … There are people who have left their mark on the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Most of them have done so over many years. But our Hadas, so young, our girl, has left a mark for generations. A seal of love for the country, with devotion and great sacrifice … Hadassi, my dear daughter, we will miss us at the Shabbat table, at family meals, on holidays and festivals … Take care of us from above, from your honorable place, under the throne of honor. We will remember you forever and your soul will be bundled in life, Amen, yes, there will be a will.”
Her sister Shaked paid tribute to her: “The best sister anyone could ask for. Supportive, kind, pampering and loving. You went and took the happiness with you, now unfortunately we are no longer a normal family, we are a bereaved family. We will remember you forever.”
The Minister of the Interior, Gilad Ardan, paid tribute: “… Hadas, demonstrating fighting skills, courage and dedication, at the Nablus Gate in Jerusalem and wherever you defended us … I did not get to know you, but the citizens of Israel, and I among them, understand today who we are parting from… You faced easier life paths, but you have chosen the difficult and challenging path … not once, but twice.”
Superintendent Roni Alsich, the police commissioner, paid tribute: “Dear Hadas … In your life there is the verse ‘Depart from evil and do good, ask for peace and pursue it.’ Your way is the way of the police … on the one hand, fighting and protecting life and physical existence. On the other hand, a struggle to change the face of society, a struggle to change the norms of obedience to the law, a struggle to continually raise mutual consideration … a struggle for democracy and the soul of the state …”
Eden, her close friend in the unit, wrote: “My dear, you taught me so much. I remember our funny moments in shifts. How we knew how to enjoy every moment together, no matter how hard it was … You were the mother of all the fighters in the unit. You always made sure to reconcile Between us … you are a true and exemplary example to every Border Guard fighter and commander. Your legacy will always remain in our hearts and we promise to go your way … We had so many plans and dreams that we did not manage to fulfill. “And thank the Creator of the world that I had the privilege of knowing you and serving with you … I love you with all my heart and body and miss you. I know we will meet again sometime.”
The wedding of Tamir, the eldest brother in the family, was scheduled to take place about a month after her fall. Hadas participated in the preparations for the exciting event. Her brother Guy wrote on Facebook about the great joy in the shadow of the deep pain: “My sister Hadassi … you and I talked about Tamir’s wedding, we said we’re going to a go wild … and you were not here, you were not with me to make a wild party and make our brother happy … we celebrated for you, because you would like us to be happy and go crazy like you … we missed you so much yesterday, whether it’s in the pictures or whether it’s going crazy and dancing and rejoicing … you will always be in our hearts.”
Among the crowds that came to comfort the family were also US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and two U.S. Presidential envoys, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, who brought to the family the condolences of President Donald Trump.
A Torah scroll was brought into the synagogue of the Yad Mordechai Border Police base where Hadas served by a family from the United States. Initially, the scroll, written to uplift the soul of the father of the family, was intended for a synagogue at the naval base. After hearing about Hadas’ story, the family decided to transfer the book to Yad Mordechai’s base to commemorate her and symbolize the path she took in her life.
The annual atonement conference of the Border Police in 2018 was held in the Zedekiah Cave in the Old City of Jerusalem. Which began at the Jaffa Gate and ended at Zedekiah’s Cave, and was attended by David and Ofer, the fathers of the two fallen, along with more than four hundred Border Police fighters. The conference was dedicated to the memory of Hadas and Border Police fighter Hadar Cohen, who had fallen a year earlier, also in an encounter with terrorists near the Nablus Gate. The conference was preceded by a march on the walls of the Old City, which began at the Jaffa Gate and ended at Zedekiah’s Cave. The march was attended by David and Ofer, the fathers of the two fallen, along with more than four hundred Border Police fighters.
At the novice base in Nitzanim, a tribute evening was held in memory of Hadas, which was entirely dedicated to instilling the values in which she believed. Over three hundred recruits and commanders attended the event, where her family members spoke about her tremendous motivation for military service and her belief in maintaining the security of the state and its citizens as a supreme value.
In November 2017, Ravia, who served with Hadas as a rookie commander, fulfilled her dream of climbing the Himalayas. When she reached one of the peaks of the legendary mountain, she placed a picture of her friend there. “Hadas did not get to experience the trip after the army she planned,” said the father. “Her image against the backdrop of the snow-capped Himalayas is a kind of consolation. Her heart ached to see the image placed on a 5,500-foot-high peak. Her memory conquered the mountain.”
Singer and creator Yoni Yaish wrote, composed and performed a song in Hadas’ memory, at the request of her friends who also participated in his writing: ” “… teach me how to continue the same joy / I will paint you a shining prayer and I will rest in the heads of a refuge for the journey / And with the kiss of heaven hey me if / hey sister / hey hello. A separate holiness to the sand / Like a cypress cypress leaning to a valley / The scents of Hadas rise from your feet / You are my land of marriage … ”
The song “Warrior” was also written and composed in Hadas’ memory, by Maor and Moti Deri: “… she deserves applause, for what she did / Forward to smile, this is what she would like / Now you will run a girl, the whole world is open / And no one in you will hurt, I’m sure of that …”
Videos and songs in memory of Hadas have been uploaded to YouTube, as well as parts of articles and interviews in which her family and friends tell about her.
An initiative of the family, the commemorative exhibition “Warrior” was established. The exhibition presents two timelines: the first is the way Hadas went from her enlistment in the army until her fall, and is based on texts from her Facebook page; The second axis, since her fall, is based on things written by the people she touched, both in her military service and in her private life. Her loved ones wrote: “Hadas was characterized by diligence and action and was a role model and inspiration among all those around her. The light she spread throughout her life continues to shine even after class. We hope that her legacy will continue to touch those who did not get to know her.”
The exhibition travels throughout the country, especially in youth centers for significant recruitment, and shortly after the start of its presentation, hundreds of thousands of people visited it. Among the first critics was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking on Hanukkah, he said: “Hanukkah is the holiday of Maccabees and the holiday of the Maccabees. I want to tell you about the Border Warrior Hadas Malka z”l, a contemporary Maccabee whose spirit characterizes the mission, contribution to the state and worthy values in Israeli society.” Education Minister Naftali Bennett added: “Hadas embodied the supreme heroism. She fought the terrorist, sacrificed her life for the rescue of the citizens of the State of Israel. There is no higher heroism than this … Hadas’ memory is meant to radiate light and light the way for the youth of Israel, who know Do the right thing, go your own way.”
