Ovadia, Matzliah (Mazzi)
Mazliah son of Farcha and Yitzhak was born in Jerusalem on June 15, 1949, and attended the “Tachkemoni” elementary school, the “Lamel” high school and a professional school in Jerusalem. Matzliach, or Matzi as he was known by friends and family, was a gifted boy in various fields: he excelled in his studies, loved drama and theater, had faith in all the mechanical works and for many years nurtured and raised fish in his aquarium. At school, he was a lively boy. For two years he served as chairman of the Student Council and achieved important social achievements in this public role at an early age, and he was a member of the Hanoar Haoved movement, but most of his energies and talents were invested in the drama club, both in directing and acting. in his adult life, he played “Shlomo Hamelech and Shalemi the Shoemaker.” When he studied mechanics at the vocational school, he spent time in the garage in every chance he had he worked on what needed to be repaired and volunteered for every mission. At the “Lemel” school they remember to this day how he leaped to the screen while the students were watching a film when a fire broke out and the screen caught on fire, he put it out with his body preventing the spread of the fire and saved the lives of his friends. He was drafted into the IDF in early May 1967, shortly before the outbreak of the Six-Day War, during which he served in Sinai and spent most of his days in combat units in the Golan Heights. Matzliach was an outstanding soldier, friendly and beloved to his commanders and friends. In his words of appreciation, his commander wrote that he was a diligent and loyal soldier, with initiative and responsibility, and that he had discovered most of his ability in operational employment and in field conditions. He was very attached to his parents, his brother, and his sister. During periods of shootings at the northern border, he would call every opportunity to calm his parents and inform them that he was happy. Every vacation was an event in the family. After the liberation, Mazliah returned to his work as a car mechanic. The family was devastated when his father was killed in the explosion of a bomb planted by terrorists in the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem, where the father worked every day. It was a difficult blow to the family a. For long nights he sat by his mother’s bed, trying to comfort her. The constant smile and the joy of life, which was a mark on Matzi’s face, disappeared. The grief over the departure of the beloved father was deep. When he heard about the war, he was the first to report to the Israeli embassy in that country, and arrived in Israel immediately in his unit on the Golan Heights, during which he drove a truck transporting munitions The warriors, and sacrificed his life in this dangerous role on the roads of the bombarded Golan Heights, with his truck loaded with ammunition, on 17 October 1973. He was kille in the shelling of the Syrians and was brought to eternal rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
