Ovadia (Abdullah), Ezra

Ezra, son of Aliza and Shaul, was born on August 15, 1944 in Baghdad, Iraq. In 1951 his family immigrated to Israel and settled in Moshav Amishav, near Petah Tikva. Ezra attended the state elementary school in Petah Tikva, and during his free time helped his mother. His goodness was boundless. He knew that the situation in the house was difficult and that he wished to please his mother. When he was twelve he joined the youth group at Kibbutz Ayelet Hashahar. The separation from the house was very difficult for him, because he loved his mother and his sisters, but the kibbutz life appealed to him and he wanted to know a new way of life. The three-year period in the kibbutz was full of experiences. Everyone loved him there, he was an enthusiastic athlete and he worked in the fields of soccer and basketball, and he also did the Gadna training with great love, and after he had severe arthritis, he was forced to leave the kibbutz and returned to a boarding school in Beit Yehoshua where he worked Ezra was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in the middle of May 1962 and was assigned to the Artillery Corps, where he received an artillery training course. He was strong, solid, solid, a little loud but always intelligent, punctual, cheerful and always pleased with his friends even in moments of great fatigue. He was a good friend and devoted worker. His friends could always find him willing to listen and help. In 1967 he married his girlfriend Shoshana and the couple had two children: Helen the eldest and Erez the young. Ezra was a model father and wanted to give his children what he did not receive. During the Six Day War he participated in the battles and was miraculously saved from death, and after the war he built his new home in Ramat Hasharon. During the Yom Kippur War Ezra took part in the fierce battles of the IDF. In the battle that took place on the 18th of Tishrei 5734 (October 14, 1973), on the “Talisman” axis in the Sinai Ezra was hurt and fell. He was brought to eternal rest in the Petach Tikva cemetery. Survived by a wife, daughter and son, parents and five sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Ezra diligently fulfilled his duty, was meticulous in carrying out his duties and had good relations with the soldiers and commanders of the battalion.”