Pearl, Shabtai

Shabtai, son of Paula and Israel, was born on 19.6.1954 in Brasov, Romania, and immigrated with his family to Israel when he was seven years old. The family lived in Rehovot, where he completed his elementary studies at the Yavnieli School. Afterward he continued to study at the “Amal” school for apprentices, with the aim of car lighting. A year later, he left school and was accepted to the Air Force Technical School in Haifa, where he studied aircraft maintenance. He was a sports fan and dealt mainly with volleyball and basketball. He also liked to travel and tour the country and took part in various marches on behalf of his school. He was a photography enthusiast and when he went hiking and marching, he often took pictures of the beauty of the country with his camera. He liked to paint, and in his spare time he often painted landscapes, humans and still life. When a damaged device fell into his hands he would study its various components and would be able to deal with it for many hours until it was repaired and restored to work. His friends knew him as a man who was always ready to help. He was very generous and treated his friends with respect and patience and was therefore loved by everyone. In the family circle he became known as a devoted and loyal son to his parents, helped a lot at home and during the period he worked and earned a living, he gave many gifts to the family and home. Shabtai was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in early February 1973. After basic training, he was sent to the Armored Corps School where he took various courses and became a tank driver, after which he was assigned to an armored brigade in the Sinai which was entrusted to him in good faith, and he soon became part of his new unit and was liked by his comrades and commanders. In the Yom Kippur War, Shabtai was with his unit in the central sector of the Suez Canal. When Shabtai fought in the battles of the containment at the “Furkan” post on October 6, 1973, his tank was hit and he was killed, and for many days he was missing and then was declared missing, and later his body was found and laid to rest in the cemetery in Rehovot, leaving behind his parents and two brothers, and after his death, he was granted the rank of corporal.