Portnoy, Aryeh

Aryeh, son of Leah and Reuven, was born on December 24, 1952. He studied at the Ahad Ha’am elementary school in Hadera and continued his high school studies in the high school in Hadera. Historically, he was successful in the matriculation exams in the summer of 1970. Aryeh was the youngest son of his parents and a brother who loved his brother Shraga and Yekutiel, and from his early years he was curious to understand and recognize everything he saw. He was known for his kindness. Aryeh was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in August 1970 and assigned to the Armored Corps, where he served as a rifleman in the armored infantry unit, and was later appointed commander of the Armored Corps. On the eve of Yom Kippur Aryeh prayed in the synagogue in his neighborhood in Hadera. At midday he was called to his unit in the Armored Corps. His father said, “Aryeh felt it was a serious matter, but he was not bothered, I sat with him for a few hours until they picked him up, and before I parted I told him that I wanted to go out even though they did not call me. They will not call you, do not go.” Aryeh was not a man of war. Friends who fought with him on the southern front say that he excelled in his peace of mind and dedication during the battle. He worked as a non-commissioned officer and spent two weeks fighting with courage and resourcefulness. On October 20, 1973, First Sergeant Aryeh was killed in a bloody battle near the quarries at the outskirts of Fayed. He was laid to rest at the cemetery in Hadera. Survived by his parents and two brothers. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved parents, the unit commander wrote: “Your son, Aryeh, served under my command in an armored unit and participated in the breach of the road, which allowed our forces to cross the canal to its western side. He came with our forces to the outskirts of Fayed and there, near the quarries, was killed.”