Wiessman, Ariel (Fitz)

Ariel (Fitz), son of Rivka and Manes, was born in Tel Aviv on March 22, 1953. He studied at the “Etzion” religious elementary school The schools where Ariel was educated brought him closer to tradition and religion, and he believed in full recognition. He was a diligent and disciplined student and a sociable boy. From the early years of his childhood he was a prominent figure in the children’s society, and when he grew up, he was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Ariel was an electronics and mechanics enthusiast and devoted much of his spare time to building electronic devices. He was familiar with the military history of the State of Israel, and read books, pamphlets and articles about the War of Independence and the various retaliatory actions. As a high school student, he was interested in another area – contemporary Hebrew literature. He has read a wide range of works by Israeli young writers.
Ariel was drafted into the IDF at the end of July 1971, and after the basic training period, he was stationed in the training unit of the Nahal Moriah group. In November 1972, he was accepted to an officer’s course but did not finish the course because he had hepatitis, and it was impossible to imagine how disappointed he was when he was removed from the course for medical reasons. He looked up to his father, who was an officer in the IDF and wanted to go in his footsteps. For a while, he had to lie in a military hospital, and immediately upon his recovery he returned to his battalion and was called a platoon sergeant. A few days before the Yom Kippur War broke out, his battalion was sent to the southern line on the Golan Heights front. On Sunday, 7 October 1973, a call came from the Tel al-Saki post. The battalion headquarters sent two armored vehicles to the outpost, one of them commanded by Ariel, who was determined to rescue the besieged, but when they reached a distance of about 200 meters from the mound, the half-tracks encountered an ambush by Syrian soldiers. Only two soldiers were left alive, and Ariel was not among them, he was killed during the battle and brought to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul, leaving behind a father, a mother, and two sisters. after his fall he was promoted to the rank of First sergeant.