Pirchi, Lior

Lior, son of Sarah (Munis) and Barzily Pirchi, was born in Petach Tikva in 1968. When he was born, his mother felt that the new baby would illuminate her life and the family’s life, so the name Lior was given to him. On January 4, 1987, Lior enlisted and served for four years in the Ordnance Division in the Ordnance Corps. Lior stood out for his wisdom, intelligence, and actions. Thanks to the technical know-how he accumulated in electronics, he renovated and repaired military communications devices in his office instead of being transferred to the brigade for repair. During his service, Lior traveled many times to the Jordan Valley, where he established ties and warm and special relations with the Arabs of the villages. He married and moved to Sha’arei Tikva, and from the moment he joined the yishuv, Lior was aware of the security situation, and volunteered to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff. In 2012 he received the position of Chief Security Officer, given the nickname “Rambo”. He was sent every warning about terrorist activity in his community. Lior took his work seriously, including the border fence near the settlement, which Palestinians used for criminal and terrorist activity. He wanted to raise awareness of this problem. A driver was documented stopping his vehicle near the fence, collecting Palestinians in order to bring them into Israel illegally. Two soldiers who were present noticed him and began running toward him to arrest him. When he spotted the soldiers, the driver hurried away, bypassing another vehicle and crossing a traffic island. Lior watched and told the driver to stop. He ran to the center of the road and even drew his pistol in front of him, but the driver accelerated, hit him with great force, and continued on his journey. Sergeant Lior Pirchi fell in combat during his service as a member of the emergency squad of his community, on 22 Elul, 9.9.2012. He was forty-four years old. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Segula, Petach Tikva at a military funeral. Survived by a wife and two sons, parents and two brothers. On the gravestone, the family wrote the verse, “And he shall be like a tree planted on streams of water whose fruit shall yield in its time, and whose leaf will not wither, and all that he shall do shall be successful” (Psalm 1: 3). In 2013, a Lior garden was inaugurated in Sha’arei Tikva, with fitness facilities, a spice garden, a fruit orchard, ancient olive trees, seating areas and views of the Dan region. The different elements in the garden were chosen as characteristic of Lior’s personality. In the garden, a monument was erected on which was engraved: “Lior adhered to the goal with great devotion, served as a human wall to defend himself from terror and in his death commanded his path and heritage to the love of the people and the state.” On the same day the garden was inaugurated, a Torah scroll was donated to the Sephardi synagogue in Sha’arei Tikva, which his parents donated to the memory of Lior.