Pressman (Prem), Eli

Was born on April 23, 1958 in France, where he absorbed the spirit of Zionism in his native country and in 1978, at the age of 20, immigrated to Israel. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and graduated from the Department of Economics and Statistics. He joined the IDF in May 1980 and served in the infantry. He underwent basic training, and in October 1981 he was promoted to the rank of corporal, and Eli settled with three of his friends, also immigrants from France, in Tekoa, Judea, where he married Yael, who also immigrated from France. During the Peace for Galilee War, although not officially drafted into reserve duty, Eli fought in the difficult battles in the Bekaa Valley and advanced with its unit to the Beirut-Damascus axis. On 3 Tamuz, June 24, 1982, during a heavy Syrian shelling, The APC he was travelling was hit and Eli was killed. He died at the age of 24. He was laid to rest on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, and left his wife and Raya, a two-month-old toddler, parents and sister. The commander of his unit wrote to his wife, “Your husband Eli fell while serving in the Jordan Valley. Eli excelled in his devotion to his goals. He astonished all with his stubbornness to undergo basic training, despite the difficulties of language and the differences in culture he encountered. He did not give up his right to participate in the war, with his usual stubbornness. He fought until he fell.”