Ofer, Israel

Son of Yosef and Sarah. He was born in Tel Aviv on the 7th of Nissan, April 6, 1949. His father was an active member of the Irgun, later joined the IDF, and participated in the War of Independence, when Israel was seven years old. He studied at the Hasmonean regional elementary school until his graduation. He joined the Tsofim group, and participated in marches and sports. Books about the Holocaust and the wars of Israel interested him. Israel went to study at the military vocational school and lived in the boarding school of the Ordinance Corps. He was not only a good and loyal son to his parents, but also to his friends, devoted with all his heart and soul. When he completed his studies in the vocational school, he was drafted into the IDF, in October 1966. When he went to serve in the workshop, he did not like his subjects and asked for a transfer to the Jordan Valley or the Canal. He was transferred to the Artillery Corps, where he was a soldier who performed his duties, to the satisfaction of his commanders. He fell in the line of duty on the 4th of Cheshvan, October 26, 1968. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. The commander of his unit wrote in a letter of condolences to his parents, “a good soldier who was devoted to his duties, who did everything willingly, and with exemplary devotion.” One of his teachers wrote of him in his memoirs about Israel: “He was a little shy, only after a while did I see his cheerfulness … He was diligent in his studies, and diligent in his work…” On the anniversary of his death, an educational library was established in his name at Hashmonai School in Mishmar-Ayalon. The military academy of the Ordnance Corps is issuing a new leaflet in its name.