Neuman, Raphael-Aharon

Raphael Aharon, ben Tova and Shlomo, was born on the 12th of Sivan, May 6, 1952, in Netanya, to parents of Holocaust survivors. Rafi, an radiant figure, quiet and restrained outside and full of zeal and passion in the interior. Raphael was drafted into the IDF in late July 1970. He decided to combine the defense of the homeland with Torah study, and therefore chose to serve in the framework of the “Hesder.”About two years before his death, Rafi participated in the pursuit of terrorists who tried to sabotage the central bus station in Safed, and was saved miraculously from death. Months before the outbreak of the war, he was discharged from the IDF, leaving him another year of Torah study. As a member of the yeshiva he volunteered to serve on Yom Kippur as a military cantor in Abu Rhodes. When the Yom Kippur War broke out he went to visit his parents before joining his comrades in the tank company. On Monday, the 12th of Tishrai, October 8, 1973, he joined his unit in the Golan Heights. During the fierce battles he joined the “Nati” force, which fought enemy tanks and destroyed many of them. On the 16th of Tishrei 5740, October 12, 1973, after fierce and bloody battles, Rafi’s tank reached the village of Nasej village in the Syrian enclave. Here the tank was hit and his men abandoned the tank. Rafi was hit and killed. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Netanya. Survived by his parents and brother. After his fall, he was given the rank of sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Rafi served in my unit as a tank gunner, and during his service in the company he proved himself as a person and as a superb fighter.” To commemorate his name and memory, his family donated a Torah scroll to the Gur Chassidim in Netanya. A synagogue was also erected in his memory and named after him.