Ben Yardena and Shimshon. He was born on December 28, 1980 in Dimona. An older brother to Ortal and Odelia. He grew up and was educated in Dimona, the religious elementary school Alfasi, and at the Appelman school. Afterward, he studied in the junior high school at the Yigal Allon School, where he graduated from the Lehman High School with a full matriculation certificate, with an increased profession in electricity, and was an enthusiastic athlete, participated in sports at the school and won In his testimony about his successes in light athletics and his participation in races and various sports activities, in July 1998 Avi enlisted in the IDF. His first choice was the Border Police, but this was not possible, and my father was destined to drive with heavy mechanical tools. After training in basic training at Nitzana, my father began a course in driving a car weighing more than 15 tons, which was conducted in Mishmar Hanegev. He successfully passed the course and was apprenticed to a regiment in the Ordnance Corps, where he served as a driver in the Ordnance Division of the battalion in field training and operations in the Gaza Strip. In January 1999, he joined the crane course (stage 1) and successfully completed it. Avi’s driver’s license included, beyond the usual level, a military license to operate a crane, a permit to drive a heavy truck, and a permit to transport various hazardous materials. Later, my father planned to take a drag course, which he wanted very much, but did not get to participate. After seven months of service in the battalion of fighters in the Gaza Strip, my father moved to the brigade in Ein Yahav, where he set out on a mission from which he did not return. On the 15th of Tevet 5749 (15.12.1999), Corporal Avi fell in the line of duty and he is nineteen years old. He was survived by his parents and two sisters. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Dimona. My father loved life – to spend time, play football and watch it, especially in the group he loved, Maccabi Haifa. My father loved jokes and loved to laugh, to do tricks, and he could be liked by everyone and connect with everyone. He was full of joie de vivre, planning plans and dreaming dreams that would never come true. The battalion’s armaments officer wrote to the family: “My father came to the brigade after seven months in the battalion, a difficult, complex and dangerous service in which he spent a long period of training in the field and the Gaza Strip as a driver in the Ordnance Division. He served as a soldier in the brigade, a service of a similar nature and tasks, although in a similar position Avi was found to be a diligent, disciplined, modest soldier with a high work ethic. Which required a long movement on the roads of the country – and performed all the tasks in the best possible way He was active in the life of the department and the brigade, was motivated and willing to take part in all the military activities, in other areas as well, and was admired by both his friends and his commanders. My father was killed on the road, the place where he spent hours and days carrying out many different tasks. ” My father’s friend, Elad, commemorates his character in a poem he wrote to his memory: “You had such a positive look on life, / your words were always so encouraging / your face was always lit up with excitement / your actions were so direct / your inner strength helped You get so much / And when we think of you / We think only about happiness and our good luck / We got to know you and meet you … “My father’s family wrote to commemorate passages commemorating him, and as a factory for his commemoration they worked to insert a plaque with his name, Torah scrolls and arrangements for number bSynagogues: to the synagogue where they usually pray, to the synagogue in the retirement home in Dimona and to the synagogue in Mitzpeh Ramon. In the memory of my father, the entire parsha of Parashat Pinchas was written in the Sha’arei Shamayim Synagogue. At the base of the brigade in Ein Yahav, the commanders and soldiers established Gilad and planted three olive trees near the club to remember my father and the family donated a television to the club.
