Shomroni, Yonatan (“Yoni”)

Son of Avraham and Dalia. Born on December 10, 1953 at Kibbutz Barkai, Yonatan was an outstanding student who liked to study in order to acquire knowledge in various fields. In the sixth grade he joined the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement and was active in the movement, and from an early age, Yonatan participated in Gadna air courses and finished the course as an outstanding trainee. He was an excellent athlete. He excelled in the volleyball game and was a member of the Hapoel team of the kibbutz. Yonatan also specialized in table tennis and was invited to the young team’s training in this game. Jonathan loved music and studied guitar and cello, which was his main instrument that accompanied him for many years. He performed in concerts at the kibbutz and was highly regarded. Jonathan was a friendly boy and had leadership skills. He was an example of his colleagues in his social activities on the national and collective levels. His friend Raanan says of him: “He was an enthusiastic Zionist in a generation of decline in values, and I was filled with admiration for this phenomenon, and it seems to me that in some place he was innocent. Jonathan was kind, with a smiling, expressive, yet serious and thoughtful face. He always helped his friends and family and rarely complained or told others about his troubles. He loved to talk to everyone and argue about different topics. Intellectual and ideological arguments that gave pleasure and satisfaction to him and his partners. Was an adventurer in nature and traveled a lot in Israel, while looking for new ways and unfamiliar corners. Yonatan was drafted into the IDF in November 1973 and volunteered for the Israel Air Force. After completing basic training, Yonatan was trained as a pilot at the Israel Air Force’s pilot school, and during his military service, he discovered all of Jonathan’s qualities from his childhood, and members of the course were soon to appreciate and appreciate him. Yonatan was a model soldier with a healthy and uncompromising sense, yet obedient and obedient, and he took upon himself to represent the students in the course to the headquarters, fighting the wars of his friends, Was received by his commanders Encamped rare qualities of strong will welcome initiative, and integrity, and adherence to values ​​above all Yaffa. All this made Jonathan a natural leader of the course. A leader who was accepted and admired both by his comrades and by the commanders of the course. “During his military service, Yonatan continued to maintain close ties with his family and with his friend, wrote them frequently and tried to share them as much as possible in his experiences. 1974) Yonatan was killed in the cemetery on Kibbutz Barkai, left behind by parents and brother, and his parents commemorated him in a booklet published by Yonatan’s friends, teachers and commanders about his character, talents and activities from childhood to his last day. This is a collection of letters he wrote to his family and to his friends in his youth and during his military service.