Vaknin, Rafael

Rafael, son of Sa’ada and Abraham, was born in 1941 in the city of Casablanca, Morocco, and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1949. The family settled in Tiberias and Rafael studied there at the Tachkemoni school. After graduating, he went to work to help support the family of many souls. He specialized in building work and completed his studies as a scaffolder at Solel Boneh. Raphael was drafted into the IDF in May 1959 and volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade, after which he participated in a parachute training course and was trained as a parachutist. He was a dedicated and disciplined soldier, meticulously and completely fulfilled all the tasks assigned to him and was acceptable to his commanders and Ehud to his comrades in the unit. At the beginning of November 1961, Rafael was released from regular service and assigned to a infantry reserve unit. In this unit he was called for periods of reserve service and with it he fought in the Six Day War. In these battles, his vehicle got on a mine and he was severely wounded in both legs. He continued to serve in a combat unit and was transferred to an armored corps unit, where he served as a half-track driver and a truck driver, after which he continued to work in construction, except for a certain period, who served as a policeman in the Israel Police. And his wife and his parents moved to the center of the country, and his parents settled in Jaffa, while he and his wife built their new home in Rishon Letzion, He joined the staff of a construction company and soon acquired status He was responsible for his work and his work managers, because of his loyalty and his willingness to invest time and effort in his work, and he took upon himself a heavy responsibility, but he fulfilled all the tasks that were imposed upon him, and therefore his employers admired him and loved him the other workers who worked with him. He had a devoted husband and a loving and caring father, who devoted his spare time to his extended family after the long and arduous day of work in the Yom Kippur War. On the 21 th of Tishrei 5734 (October 21, 1973), he fell while carrying out his duties. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife, three sons and two daughters, a mother, a father (who died in 1976), six brothers and three sisters. After his death he was promoted to corporal. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, the defense minister wrote: “Rafael served in the Armored Corps. He was a devoted soldier and a loyal friend. Rafael was loved by his commanders and his comrades in arms. “