Noy (Oppenheimer), Nitzan

Nitzan, son of Miriam and Meir , was born in Rehovot on October 27, 1948. He completed six years of schooling at the Pines Elementary School in Gedera, and after that his family moved to Rehovot, where he continued his elementary studies at the Smilansky School. Afterward, he entered the high school in Rehovot, where he successfully completed four years of study in the humanitarian track. During his studies, he was also a member of the Gadna Air Force, and he was fond of gliding and flying, and was also a representative of the state when he was sent to an international conference of the Gadna Air Force in Belgium. He liked to ride a bicycle and take a lot of time to ride, travel and explore the country, and so he got to know its sights and landscapes, and took many pictures. He was drafted into the IDF in mid-November 1966. At first he was assigned to the air force, but after a year he was transferred to the Armored Corps, where he took various courses and became a gunner in a tank. After that he passed a tank commander course followed by a basic officers’ course. After completing his Armored Corps course, he was appointed commander of the tank division of the Armored Corps. He fought in the Six Day War in the Armored Corps and spent most of his regular service in the Sinai, near the border lines. He was an excellent officer and commander, always trying to improve his department’s achievements and achieve the best results in the exercises. In his relations with his soldiers he also excelled in his human and friendly approach, and in his efforts to help them in everything. As his release date approached, he volunteered to serve another period. At the beginning of March 1970, Nitzan was discharged from the regular army with the rank of lieutenant. After the liberation he went on a trip to the United States, where he combined visits with his many relatives and tours throughout the country. When he returned to Israel he began to work for the Jewish Agency, with the guidance of youth from abroad. He enrolled at the Negev University in Be’er Sheva and studied environmental sciences. During vacations he worked as a trainer in Maccabi Beer Sheva. He was a devoted son of his family, and when his widowed mother became ill and was hospitalized, Nitzan visited her every day and brought her delicacies, which he prepared for her with his own hands. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Nitzan left the house even before he was called, and joined his unit in Sinai and participated in the braking battles. On November 10, 1973, Nitzan was killed in the bombing of enemy aircraft in the Tasa area of ​​Sinai. The day before he fell he wrote a postcard to the house announcing that there was no need to worry about him. The postcard arrived on the day his family became aware of his death. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Gedera. He was survived by a mother and two sisters.