Son of Jahla and Moshe, was born on February 1, 1943, in Iraq. In 1950 his family immigrated to Israel and settled in Kiryat Shmona. At first Ezra studied at the elementary school in Kiryat Shmona, where he was transferred to the Jewish Agency’s Youth Aliyah Department. He continued his studies at the school in Dabroth, and joined the Shibolet youth group at Kibbutz Tel Yosef where he was educated, raised, built his home and contributed to the agriculture and social life. When he arrived at the kibbutz Ezra joined him, began working in the vegetable garden and tried to excel in his work, his studies, and his social activities. He was a talented boy, persisted in his studies and listened curiously to stories about the generation of pioneers in the Jezreel Valley. He learned about Hashomer, the Labor Battalion, and the more he studied, the more he called the groundwork and the kibbutz society. For five years, Ezra stayed in the Shibolet group in Tel Yosef, and during this period he acquired friends and was outstanding in his skills. He was one of the initiators of the Nahal Brigade, and hoped that the company would continue to maintain ties with them during the period of his military service. The only one in our village who returned to Kibbutz Tel Yosef, and with all his energy and varied talents, began to operate in social life and was the driving force behind it. He excelled as a football player in the local team, and devoted himself to the field of art in which he excelled – circles for folk dancing. He guided, danced, guided, organized public singing, and followed the members of the kibbutz in every event, in families, on holidays and on holidays. Ezra initiated participation in marches, and his group was prominent in its lively spirit, songs and dance. Ezra was a dancer in the Shalom 88 group, and performed with her in Israel and abroad. He was one of the founders of Tzavta Izrael, with her dance troupe, who guided and danced, gluing his pupils with his enthusiasm. During his service in the Paratroopers Brigade, Ezra met a student at a kindergarten teachers’ seminary in the Jezreel Valley, married her and established his home in Tel Yosef. In his great energy, he also worked in the field of agriculture, and was one of the founders of the “Beit Shean-Harod” transport cooperative. Ezra drove a heavy semitrailer and supplied fuel to the settlements in the valley. For this work he received a certificate of excellence. In 1976, his request for a transfer from the Paratroopers Unit to a transport unit was approved. As an experienced driver of a heavy truck in his civilian work, Ezra was placed in a tank unit carrying tanks. During this period, he ceased to participate in the dance companies, as a dancer and began to guide dance and singing circles in the valley. In three wars, Ezra fought in the Six Day War and in the Yom Kippur War he fought in the Paratroopers Brigade, and in the Peace for Galilee War he fought as a driver of a heavy vehicle. On June 10, 1982, at the beginning of the war, planes bombed his unit in the Bekaa Valley. Ezra was hit by the bombing and killed. He was 39 years old when he died. Prime Minister Menachem Begin wrote to his wife after his death: “Your good man has sacrificed his life for an unjust and noble goal: to ensure life and peace for every man, wife and child in Israel. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon wrote to his family: “Corporal Ezra Natan gave his life to his homeland, he fell north of Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley, he was an excellent soldier and he did his job well. The commander of his unit wrote: “Ezra was a good driver, he did his job very well, and he was loved by all his friends and commanders.” Ezra was laid to rest in the military section of the Tel Yosef cemetery. He left behind a wife, two sons, a daughter, three brothers and three sisters. His kibbutz published a pamphlet in his memory.
