Mankar, Simcha

Simcha, son of Batya, and Eliezer was born on October 7, 1953, in Haifa. He studied at the Gordon Elementary School in Kiryat Haim and at the Be’eri School in Rishon Letzion. Afterward he continued his studies at the Amal High School in Rehovot. Simcha was a good and disciplined student, loved by his teachers and friends. During his vacations, he worked in various crafts to help out his parents. He was a member of the Scouts movement and later joined the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement, and later served as a counselor in the movement’s branch in Rishon Letzion. During his childhood, he contracted a serious illness and the doctors almost gave up. But his body knew how to overcome all the discomforts and entanglements and he was perfectly well. He was a sports enthusiast, very enthusiastic about soccer, and was a member of the Hapoel soccer team in Rishon Letzion. He devoted his free time for public activity, gathered wandering youth and worked on teaching them basic social values. Simcha, with his generosity, loved to help others and help anyone in need. He was loved by his friends, and no one had a grudge against him. He loved his sister, and he took care of her as the apple of his eye, so that no harm would befall her. He was going to marry his girlfriend Zipporah. Simcha was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in mid-November 1971 and assigned to the Artillery Corps. He was a good soldier, responsible and dedicated to his job, and was an example of his friends in his good temper and in his tolerance. He always tried not to worry his parents and made sure to write letters home. He was awarded the Operational Service Award for his part in operational activities. During the Yom Kippur War, Simha participated in the battle against the Syrians in the Golan Heights. On the tenth day of Tishrei 5734 (10.10.1973), Simcha fell in battle. Near the oil pipeline, while his unit was holding artillery to enemy forces, the cannon exploded and Simha was hit and killed. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Rishon Letzion. Survived by father, mother, brother and sister. After his fall, he was promoted to corporal. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Simcha was a beloved friend of all – a disciplined and courageous soldier.” His parents donated a Torah scroll to the “Neve Shmuel” synagogue in the Beit Maon neighborhood of Rishon Letzion; In January 1977, a booklet called “My Brother” was published, written by his sister Pnina, on her fifteenth birthday. In the booklet, she tried to present written testimony to her brother, who had fallen and was so young, to repay him, a hint of the warmth and tenderness he gave her until his life was taken and he was only twenty years old and three days away.