Tapiro, Raphael

Raphael was born on December 5, 1953, in Meknes, Morocco, and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1963. He studied in a Talmud Torah in his hometown and later attended school “Oranim” elementary school in Yokne’am. Raphael was a quiet, disciplined student, humble and shy, and loved by his teachers and friends. He was a sports fan and was passionate about football and basketball. He loved to paint and dance, he liked to sing and he composed songs from time to time. After graduating from elementary school, he was forced to work to relieve his father of the burden of supporting the household. At the age of sixteen, he began working in the “Soltam” factory. He was punctual and did his work faithfully, and his superiors liked him for his industriousness and diligence, and sent him to the Technikum in Haifa to study in a course for drawing. Raphael was serious about his approach to life, by nature a pacifist and a forgiver, so he avoided fighting and clashing with people. He was gentle, courteous and polite. He was always patient with patience and not angry. All his knowledge knew him as honest, kind and willing to help anyone. His parents had a loyal and devoted son, a great respect for them and their welfare. Raphael was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in mid-May 1972 and was assigned to the Israel Air Force, after completing basic training for anti-aircraft guns. He was an excellent gunman, responsible and devoted to his role and an example of his friends in his good temper, his passivity and obedience. He did most of his regular military service in Sinai. So he rarely visited the house, but made sure to write letters and keep in touch with his home. In the first hours of the Yom Kippur War, on October 6, 1973, Raphael fell in battle, an enemy aircraft attacked the Hagidi area and a rocket hit Rafael and he was killed on the spot. After his death, he was raised to the rank of sergeant: “Rafael was a soldier and a model friend, loved by his commanders and friends.”