Ben Pasi and Moshe. He was born on October 21, 1980 in Netanya. A middle brother to Ayelet and Michal. Already in his early years, he had features that would accompany him in all his short life. It was nice to be with Ofir. The look of his eyes was magical, alert and quiet, his smile radiated and captured those around him. Ofir was reluctant to eat or eat at all, just a child who did not want to eat. Thin, delicate and frail, he finished kindergarten in Netanya and studied for the first year at Bialik Elementary School in the city. When he moved to second grade, the family decided to move to Moshav Gan Yoshiya in Emek Hefer, in order to achieve a quality of life, calm and quiet. It seems that the change and the transition from life in the city to the village added to Ophir a dimension of connection with nature and the environment, which is so lacking in the life of the city. During this period, Ophir became flexible and adaptive to changes. He connected with new children, knew how to compromise and become fond of those around him. Ophir continued his studies at the regional elementary school in Kfar Vitkin, where all the children in the area came. He was loved by his teachers and teachers. The children’s agenda at the regional school began by bus early in the morning; Ophir was not late for transportation, stood on the agenda, persevered and knew how to accept the routine of the day calmly and pleasantly. After graduating from elementary school, he moved to the Ben Gurion Regional School of Education in Emek Hefer (Ruppin). Instead he met new friends and they became a cohesive group that had developed over the years. This group has accompanied Ofir ever since his last day, and continues to accompany his family to this day. Ophir met with the children in the moshav at soccer games and the youth movement. In the ninth grade, he went to a youth counselors course and at the end of it he received a group of children, who to this day remember and tell how much they enjoyed him and how special he was in transferring the activities. “We thought that this would not happen to us, that terrorism would give up on us, but we were naive, we grew up together in a pastoral area, protected in our bubble. One day, all of this shattered a bullet – your arm, Ophir, penetrated into the broad heart that used to be the force of life … It’s strange to try to say, it’s strange that you’re gone, a childhood friend who laughs, And anger at war life is getting worse, taken from us too soon, Ophir, so beautiful, so charming, how in the past have you spoken, how do you get and stop living memory? And always, you’ll always be here with us, always being out of the way, you’re a shtnik, you’ve thrown out your comments that we did not always understand where they came from, probably from the crazy thoughts that went through your mind. We need to release our child, a special and unique child, a funny, brilliant, pure child, we have no words to describe the intensity of the pain that is without you, Ophir, all of you. , But your soul lives in each of us. A storm of emotions brings us together. Looking for answers and not finding how to perpetuate you, how to let go. Only the funny laugh resonates in the ears of friends. “During his high school years, Ophir devoted his studies to his studies, but did not abandon the meetings with his friends, and filled his life with entertainment, walks, sea and home help. Beautiful Land of Israel “:” I have always called you my beautiful Land of Israel. Such a special combination of traits that, unfortunately, are disappearing from the landscape. Characteristics of innocence, of faith, of curiosity and action. I have never seen you bitter, demanding, and shaken from chores. And even if there was criticism, she was refined and cultured and almost always in a quiet voiceWhispers. “Although Ophir referred to the tests and the documentation with a certain indifference,” the grades and tests are important for the teachers and the school, “he said, his achievements were good and he asked the parents not to interfere with his studies. He never gave his parents the feeling that they were taking his time or that he was missing a meeting with friends, and he hoped to serve in one of the IDF patrols. He joined the Gadna, and he built himself for combat service, and because of color blindness, he did not get what he wanted, and at the end of July 1998 he enlisted in Combat Engineering, completing basic training as an outstanding trainee and being transferred to the “Chicks” track for eight months. The advanced training stage and began the course for squad commanders. At the end of the course, he went out as planned for Training Base 1. After completing the course, he began his military service, and was wounded in the head and could not take a helmet anymore, – A guide to the operators of the CMA Corps. He completed his service as a company commander, and it was decided that in the reserves he would be a power plant operator. Upon his release he immediately began working with his father in the carpentry shop. His day was divided into two parts: during the day he worked with his father, and during the evening and night worked as a waiter in a pub. During the week he worked very hard, without many hours of sleep, in order to save money to travel abroad for a long period of time, and in September 2001 Ophir traveled with two of his friends to Amsterdam. For a moment he could travel to the United States, while Shlomo Artzi’s songs played in his room without interruption, and Meir later learned of Meir’s poems from his book “The Snake’s Scepter,” trying to understand their meaning and love the artist. He was very talented and photographed in a unique way both on a trip he made and at home On Friday, when he was called up for reserve duty, he was in the middle of a meeting where he set a date for the flight, and Ophir was drafted into the Bethlehem area in the framework of Tzu 8, although not a year after his release from the IDF. He parted from all the members of the family, and even went to leave his grandmother. In the evening he boarded a recruitment vehicle and drove to Anatot. Every day during the four days of reserve duty, he spoke with his family on the phone and informed them of his condition. He always said that “in the reserves they do nothing and nothing to worry about.” His parents listened, waiting for him to call to hear about the return home. On April 1, 2002, Ophir fell in operational activity in Jerusalem. A stray bullet fired by Palestinians from Bethlehem hit his heart and Ophir was critically wounded. At the hospital in Jerusalem, where doctors fought for his life, he died of his wounds. He was twenty-two years old when he fell. Ophir was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Netanya. He was followed by parents and two sisters. After his fall he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. Ophir was a special person, all the people who accompanied him in the various stages of his life say. He was real, loving, giving to his friends and family. “If someone loves a flower, that in all the millions of stars there is only one like him, it is enough to look at the stars and he is happy, he says to himself: ‘My flower is there somewhere …’ But if the sheep eat the flower, One, all the stars went out. ” “And again I was gripped by the freezing cold of an irreparable loss, and I realized that I could not bear the thought that I would never hear that laughter again. (From “The Little Prince”)
