Ofer, David

David (Duvi), son of Mona and Ze’ev, was born on the 28th of Sivan 5705 (28.5.1945) on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. He grew up and was educated in Kibbutz Be’eri in the Negev and completed his post-primary studies in a general humanistic track. When David arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri, he was nine years old and behind him were days of wandering around the country. He was born in Jerusalem and spent his first years in the Carmel Forests of Kibbutz Beit Oren. When he was four years old, he returned to the capital and began to study in the kindergarten and then in school. David was an alert child and he had read and counted on his own. When he arrived at Kibbutz Be’eri, she became involved, despite all the difficulties, with the children of the Eshel class. On the eve of his induction into the IDF, he was full of ambitions as a grenade, a young man who enthusiastically caught up with everything he was involved in. David was drafted into the IDF in mid-November 1963 and was first assigned to the air force. He was later transferred to the Armored Corps, but was not pleased with his unit during the first time. But when he learned to learn the secrets of armor, “he was caught up in his characteristic enthusiasm and fell in love with the army.” He has completed several courses, including a tank course and a course for tank commanders. In May 1966, after completing his mandatory service, he returned to his kibbutz, worked for a while in the field of floriculture, and then volunteered to work in a cowshed where he had no working hands. The Six Day War broke out when he was in the midst of a dairy course, and was drafted and fought against the Egyptians on the southern front, for which he was awarded the “Six Day War Medal.” His father said that the sights of the war influenced him “He came back after the war, different, older.” Dubi was once more involved in the cowshed;”David always had something to do in his spare time,” his friends said, and he tried to improve his quality of life at Kibbutz Be’eri, “He did everything he did, out of a desire for perfection and out of unbounded devotion and kindness.” He was called for periods of reserve service and participated in the War of Attrition, and traveled to Europe in 1971 and 1972. He was very enthusiastic about everything he saw. At that time he was a member of the Labor Party’s young guard and participated in the editorial board of the Ramzor newspaper, which was published on its behalf. One year before his death he enlisted in activities of concentration in the scout movement, was the coordinator of the southern region and also participated in the planning of the jamboree. The Yom Kippur War interrupted the course of its activity and is in full swing. When the war broke out, he was called to his unit on Saturday afternoon, when he finished his Sabbath duty in the cowshed. He was sent to the southern front and left with force tanks to repel the Egyptian forces. On the second day of the war, he fought a three-hour firefight with the Egyptians near the Firdan Bridge. On the afternoon of the 12th of Tishrei 5734 (October 8, 1973), an order was issued to build a bridgehead in the West Bank of the Canal, and during that action David was hit by an antitank missile and killed. He left behind his parents and brother, and was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant. “David, who served as a tank crew in an armored unit, was loved by his commanders and his colleagues and carried out his duties impeccably.” The members of the Ofer family, friends and friends at Kibbutz Be’eri, wrote about Dubi’s personality and his way in a memorial book published by Kibbutz Be’eri in memory of three kibbutz members who fell in battle. Memories of Dubi, written by his parents and friends, were also raised in the Be’eri Diary; every year, swimming competitions are held on behalf of the Eshkol Regional Council, in memory of the late David Ofer.