Son of Eliyahu and Batia. He was born on January 19, 1942 in Kfar Giladi. Before his birth, his father enlisted in the Transportation Corps and spent his first few years without a father, so Naftali says of himself: “I saw very little of Avi as a child, so I called my mother who tried to replace Avi. . By the time he reached school age, young Naphtali was in his class and in his early years in elementary school suffered greatly from this fact, but because of his stable personality and calm things changed and Naphtali acquired a special position among his friends. He was mature and responsible for his age and earned the appreciation of his teachers and friends; a serious, settled boy was in class, always concentrating on himself as if he were listening more and more to himself than what was going on in his class. Anyone who came to examine him with human standards in order to understand the individual’s weight immediately would discover that he had a serious, thoughtful and valuable young man before him, and if the examiner wanted to reach him, he would abandon the trite paths where a teacher and student might meet and look for the special path Because it was only in this way that he could discern his pleasant character, his human decency, his conscience, and his characteristic responsibility – for these were the elements of Naphtali’s character, expressed in his special modesty and the truthfulness of his convincing simplicity. In the later grades, Naftali had many activities: he studied – and studied seriously; He worked – always with greater responsibility than his friends; He also taught at the kibbutz children’s kibbutz and worked there out of social and social awareness. Naftali was gifted with musical talent and chose musical instruments in a forest fund, which is a hard instrument with heavy sounds that requires long hours of exercises and training. In addition to the Forest Fund, he also played the accordion, which helped him greatly to the parties in the children’s company, the agriculture, and later in the air force. Another of his activities was conducting, because he established a small choir in the children’s society and later in the agriculture as well, guiding and conducting it. When he finished his studies, he went to work in the youth brigade of the Union of Kibbutzim and Kibbutzim. When he got to work, he became very fond of his friends. One of them described his firm but delicate, thorough and mature stature, his serene face, his open, determined brow that nothing should be hidden from him, and his eyes, often smiling into the eyes of others. He was connected to his home and the way of life on the kibbutz and stood out before joining the air force. He was drafted into the IDF in August 1960. He gave up the possibility of playing in the IDF orchestra and volunteered for the air force, because, as he puts it, a person must serve where he is required. He soon became evident in his maturity and seriousness in the pilot course and was able to gather people around him. He was elected governor of the cadets’ post, which he held until the end of the course, and he earned him the high esteem of his commanders and colleagues for the course. Naftali completed the pilot course as an outstanding trainee, and later in his career joined the aerobatics team and achieved great achievements in technical ability alongside his successes in command positions. He was one of the youngest pilots to fly to the Mirage. After six years of service, he faced the difficult choice between choosing a pilot as a professional and returning home to a kibbutz. The dilemma was very difficult because the pilot loved very much but on the other hand he felt a duty towards his friends and kibbutz. In addition, Naftali also wanted to learn to develop personally. In the end he made a decision by returning to the farm. At the time of his departure, his commander gave him several lines of appreciation for his high level as a pilot. In the farm, Naftali entered the quarry industry and as usual he occupied an important place in this area and fulfilled his duties beyond what was required of him. He also tried to read and learn a lot – which was not possible for him during the yearsRuth in the Force. At the outbreak of the Six-Day War he was called up for reserve duty and served as a pilot. Some time later he took a wife and set up a family. The days of the War of Attrition and heavy pressure enabled Naftali to return to the corps for command of operational flights. Naftali realized that his place was indeed there and with the consent of his farm he returned to regular service. It was a time of intense military activity of daily attacks. His friend describes their last attack: “Naftali chose an airplane that will certainly not have any faults, and it is certain that it will not remain on the ground while others are fighting.” We are attacking the headquarters of Fatah near Irbid. There’s a little flak, I think; I wish the flak will always be as weak as today. ” Finally, the plane was hit in the air; It was on Wednesday, 22 April 1969, when a radar station in Jordan was attacked. He left a wife and a daughter. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Kfar Giladi. His rank was raised from the day they fell to the major. The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Mordechai Hod, said: “Naftali excelled as a combat pilot with organizational and commanding abilities … He tried to take freedom but returned to service in the Israel Defense Forces because his conscience bothered him because of the situation in the country … “He said. In “Thirty” to his death, Kibbutz Kfar Giladi took his leaf “On the Hill” in his memory. The kibbutz also published a book in memory of Elul (September 1970) called Naftali.
