Silberberg, Mordechai (Moti)
Mordechai was born in Tel Hanan on February 5, 1955 to his parents Benjamin and Dvora. He completed his studies at the elementary school in the Kirya, studied for two years at the ORT high school and moved to the IAF Technical School. Even as a child, Moti has shown excellent leadership skills. He always knew how to manage, always overcame every situation and never refused a friend’s request for help. Says his friend from childhood: “No one had anything against Mutti, everyone loved him and believed in him, and because of that I heard him.” I remember that in the various campaigns on behalf of the Gadna, many tried to be close to him. “Moti is handsome, athletic and an avid sports fan. His short life was devoted to sport, and he was active in sports, with an emphasis on soccer, and his approach to sport and physical training was clear and unequivocal: he loved physical challenges, played basketball, made light runs and excelled in soccer. And his friends are glorifying his athletic talent, a talent that has been cut off prematurely. Decided that his place in the paratroops. So he left the technical school and in the half-year he remained until his induction, he worked as a locksmith. When the time came, he did not tell his parents that he was a volunteer for the paratroopers so as not to cause them much concern. Stubborn was Mutti. From the moment he decided to volunteer for the paratroopers, he did everything in his power to succeed in the mission. Indeed, this unit proved his great physical ability and strong character, to the satisfaction of his commanders and he went through all the training easily. His excellent physique, acquired through the long occupation of sports, allowed him to even enjoy them. His comrades in the unit repeatedly remind him of his kindness and help to every needy person. He was always one of the first to do the tough journeys of basic training, helping the weak and never taking anything out of his mouth. On the fourth day of the war, he wrote to his parents: “You have nothing to fear in the meantime. On the fifth day of the war he fell. “I reached for him, but they stood up, I did everything for him, but he had forgotten, long ago!” – writes his girlfriend, who refuses to be comforted. Tupolev, the same heavy bomber, suddenly emerged. None of the hundreds, who were found at that pleasant early evening in the camp of Abu Rudes, heard his voice in time. A terrifying body, utterly black, evil and malicious. He dropped ten black bombs, which the stunned soldiers counted, madly, one by one. A heavy smell of gunpowder, shouts, flames, and the howling of fire engines. The following day, on 10 October 1973, 10 people were killed. Mutti was one of them. He was 19 when he died. His burial place in the military section of Haifa.
