Ropa, Zvi

Son of Rosa and Aharon, was born on August 23, 1947, in Siberia, where his family fled Poland during World War II.In the Soviet Union, Zvi graduated from elementary school and returned to Poland with his family to Poland, Zvi immigrated to Israel and settled in Kiryat Gat. Here he completed an electrician course and worked in his profession until he was drafted. Zvi was drafted into the IDF in mid-May 1968, served as a combat soldier in a paratroopers unit, and towards the end of his service he was transferred to the Armored Corps. In mid-October 1971, Zvi was discharged from the regular army service, but his ties with the IDF were not cut off. Every year he was called up for reserve duty, and as his commander says, “there were six reservists.” Zvi was a popular figure in his company and his friends called him “The Aryeh”. Even though it was not his job, Zvi took care of his friends in the reserves, cooked them coffee every morning, and prepared delicious meals. As part of the reserve service he participated in the Yom Kippur War and was decorated with the battle. Zvi married Shulamit and the couple had two daughters and a son. He was a devoted husband and proud father who took care of all his family’s needs. Zvi loved nature and landscape and traveled extensively with his family throughout the country, which he knew as the palm of his hand. In the course of time, the family settled. Zvi bought a house and with his own hands he renovated it and even built magnificent furniture, but he did not receive it. On the 15th of Shevat 5744 (18.1.1984), Sergeant Tzvi fell in the line of duty and was put to rest at the military cemetery in Kiryat Gat. He left a wife, two daughters and a son, a mother and two sisters