Sofer, Joshua (Shuki)

Son of Dalia and Yosef. He was born on 19 July 1971 in Be’er Sheva. The arrival of the twins Yehoshua (Shuki) and Sigal never pleased the family. Shuki was named after his grandfather Yehoshua, the father of his father, who immigrated to Israel and arrived in Be’er Sheva in 1951. Shuki was a good boy, comfortable and sensitive, did not raise a voice, but at the same time was the moving spirit in the house – energetic and loving to bring joy. For Purim parties he always prepared well, disguised himself in original costumes and won first places. Shuki even loved to sing and won various musical competitions. He grew up with three sisters, and how Simcha he was when his brother Shai was born. From first grade through eighth grade, he studied at the Ma’ayan elementary school in Be’er Sheva. Afterward, he continued his studies at the Beit HaKakkid High School in Be’er Sheva. As part of his personal commitment to Bar-Mitzvah, he volunteered at Beit Hahayal in Be’er Sheva, and after that year he continued to enlist in the army, out of love for the army and the people who worked at Beit Hahayal. The youth were able to run the school for one day, and the trip to Poland was open to outstanding students selected by the teachers, and Shuki was chosen for the trip but he gave it up to a friend, due to his concern that his parents would not be able to afford the expensive trip. On the journey, they explained to him that they would be able to pay, but Shuki insisted and did not leave He liked to listen to music, mainly Israeli, admired the singers Rita and Ofra Haza, and bought every new CD of the first, and he liked to dance, watch movies, plays and performances by singers and bands. His mother’s food, preferring him to sit in a restaurant, he was “in charge” of cultural affairs at home and family events, holidays and birthdays, he took care to decorate the house, then filmed and recorded the family celebrations on video and duplicated copies for everyone. Because he was a warm and cordial person, Shuki made social connections quickly and found a common language with others. He knew his mistakes. Kindness was, generous, loved to give and help. If, for example, he went shopping in the market and saw an elderly man carrying heavy baskets, he would stop a taxi, pay for the trip and send him home. In 1989, Shuki enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and served for three years in the Southern Command’s communications unit, in a control unit, and another four months in the career army at the Tse’elim base. After his discharge from the IDF, Shuki was recruited to the Israel Police for a tour of Bethlehem, where he served in a number of positions – a secretary, an operations sergeant and, in his last position, a personal secretary in the regional commander’s office. He served in the Judea and Hebron districts: Bethlehem, Gush Etzion, Efrat and Hebron. During his service in the police, he was awarded an outstanding regional and district police officer three times. “You are a responsible, dedicated, courteous and polite policeman,” Commander Efi Arditi, commander of the Hebron District, in the certificate of excellence, “represents the Israel Police in an exceptional manner, both for civilians and for external elements who come into contact with the station. You invest a great deal of your time to carry out additional tasks and even initiate social action and consolidation in your unit. In light of these and other qualities, you were chosen as an outstanding policeman for the patrol unit at the Hebron station. “In June 2009, Brigadier General Avshalom Peled, commander of the Hebron District, wrote:” My full appreciation is for your high quality service and achievement. Your contribution to achieving the objectives of the space and the Israel Police. ” Yosef the father testified that his son, who had worked for sixteen years in the Hebron police force despite the great danger involved in the work, feltHe loved the police, it was in his soul. He was never afraid of the service in the southern Hebron hills, but we were worried and he always reassured us and told us that there was nothing to worry about. “On the 30th anniversary of the death of the son, Yosef said:” From time to time we asked you to move closer to save the travel and the risks, You told us that the station in Hebron and especially the people in it, is not a regular station but a family greenhouse, so you do not think of leaving them. We saw it every morning, how you got up with great joy and motivation for your service, and did not think about your personal safety. We have heard about you from your previous commanders, who have meanwhile advanced in senior positions and positions, who have kept in touch with you, and asked for your welfare and indeed offered to serve in their midst. But you thanked them and continued to be connected to the Hebron station, with love and dedication … “During his military service in the” Orev “unit of the Givati ​​Brigade, Shuki was very devoted to his family, , Giving without limits and great respect for the parents, he loved and fascinated his nephews as if they were his children, played with them, bought them sweets, tickets for police activity days, tapes of songs, children’s movies and surprised them on his free day. Came to their final parties in order to document them in the photograph, and at the wedding of his brother Shai, Shuki met Einav Blum, and the friendship between them became very fast and after about four months Shuki was very Simcha for the wedding, and the whole family was Simcha to prepare for the wedding ceremony. Einav’s attempts to persuade him to move to the police station in Beer Sheva, which was safer, were unsuccessful, and every time he reassured her that the road was not dangerous and that the vehicle was fire-proof. But three months before the wedding, on his way to Merhav, the police vehicle in which Shuki was driving near Deir Razah in the southern Hebron hills was attacked by a planned ambush by terrorists. Shuki was mortally wounded by the shooting and died of his wounds. Two policemen were injured in the incident. Joshua-Shuki Sofer fell in operational activity in the southern Hebron hills on June 14, 2010, at the age of thirty-nine when he fell. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Be’er Sheva. Survived by his parents and four brothers and sisters – Mazal, Chana, Sigal and Shai. Dozens of police officers, headed by Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen, were present at the funeral, and his father said: “My dear and beloved Shuki, who would have believed that thirty days have passed since you left and not returned home. We do not believe and do not digest that you will not return to us anymore. Everything remained in your room as you left the day you left, and we did not change anything. We wait for each moment to enter the house and emerge from the bad dream we are in. Shuki, we waited impatiently with the whole family, your friends and relatives to take you and Einav (who will live long life) to the chuppah and kiddushin, for a great day in your life. That you will develop a new, Simcha, hopeful life with a bright future. But to our great dismay, the vile murderers’ bullets cut off our dream and left us stricken with grief and bereavement for the rest of our lives. Shuki, we told you not to worry about anything, that as long as your mother and I are alive we will take care of you and always stand by you. We wanted to compensate you for your modest Bar Mitzvah party, and we wanted to give you the best of your wedding and your new home … We knew your kindness and kindness to the family, the neighbors, the children and all the people, but the things we heard about you in ShivaYour commanders and colleagues only increased your image, your giving and your special personality. We heard how you treated the local population, your colleagues and all those who came with you in contact with service and leisure time … “His fiancee Einav eulogized the markets at the funeral:” Everything I say can not contain what the Lev feels. Look at all our wedding guests, they came today to accompany you on your last path … The Lev explodes, there is no place to contain so much pain … Who will call me and who will spoil me and sometimes get a bit upset. And who, Master of the Universe, will tell me that he loves me more than he loves himself … In case I did not say enough, I love you and will always love you. “Einav and her parents continued to maintain contact with Yosef and Dalia. “We have awakened to a morning of news of a shooting attack by a terrorist squad at a Hebron police vehicle on its way to work, and now it is difficult to stand and eulogize you. Unfortunately, the terrorists’ shooting aimed at killing has led to your death … Shuki, I know you from the day you joined the Israel Police in 1995. All your service in the Hebron region was an active and dominant partner in dealing with the complex, complex and dangerous reality in Judea and Samaria. You were a personal example of those around you in identification with space, tasks, initiative, diligence, high motivation, investment and endless loyalty. You are a man of values, action and assistance to every person, out of devotion, light of Lev, joy of life, and love of the person in you, and no wonder you were admired by policemen and officers of the region, the public and the leaders of the communities in Judea and Samaria. “Superintendent Meir Organji of the Hebron Community and Police Department eulogized his close friend:” For three years you were the symbol of my operations in Hebron. You have implemented the great rule in the Torah: ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Yesterday you called me and asked when I would go on vacation. I asked you, ‘Why do you ask?’ And you said, ‘I just wanted to make sure you did not forget my wedding.’ “Senior sergeant Ariel Massilati met Shuki in his last decade and wrote in his memory:” We, as the Israel Police and the Hebron Region, lost a dear friend, a friend, a friend, … a loyal friend … a man who loves people, helps others. And the greatest virtue of all – that does not make the poor and the gossip, a man of good cheer. A man who takes care of every police officer and policeman, especially the patrol officers of the station, so that they can return from the field safely … Ten years ago, I was wounded in a terrorist attack together with a number of policemen … and during that period Shuki would sit in the diary and receive reports. When he heard about the attack, Shuki was the first to call me at Soroka Medical Center. He asked me how I was and said, ‘Do you want me to inform the family, the wife, the children? … I’m sorry I can not call Shuki and tell him,’ Shuki, how do you feel? ? All is well? Do you need help? ‘”A week after the attack in which Shuki was killed, the General Security Service (Shin Bet) arrested the Hamas cell behind it. The Minister of Public Security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, arrived for a condolence visit at the Sofer family home. The family received letters of condolence from rabbis and heads of communities in Mount Hebron, as well as from families throughout the country who heard about the attack on the media. During the first year of mourning, hundreds of condolences were shared by the family, headed by Shuki’s friends, policemen from the Hebron area and the Samaria and Judea District, who visited the family and tried to ease their pain. To the Hebron police’s synagogue in June 2011 at the ceremonyThere and in a secure procession, and since then he has been serving the policemen serving there. At the end of the year of mourning for Shuki, Einav wrote: “I felt so many feelings this year, pain and loss that is unbearable – the loss of a friend, the partner of secrets, the loss of love, the loss of a partner, the loss of a life that is still waiting for us. The wedding, our own house, the establishment of a family, almost everything we had, almost! … to live without you, alongside the pain, along with the great longing, along with the memories of what you were and who you were … , Go on with all your strength and always see your love, your smile and the two dimples that have become your hallmark, the power of giving, the joy of life you had – to see you and my life in front of you My eyes and go on walking … “And another article:” I had the right to meet someone like Shuki and to be his partner … a man who knows love and giving is polite, courteous, humble, straight … He liked his work until he had a second home, and served as a model for his fellow policemen and performed his role with great distinction. ” On his gravestone, a quote was quoted from Hamutal Son of Zeev’s words to Boaz Sharabi’s poem: “Give the soul and the Lev, to give when you love” / Dear and beloved son, Your memory in our hearts forever.