Wiseman, Leonardo Alex

Son of Rivka and Alex. Leonardo was born in Afula on November 24, 1980. He was born as a young brother to her son, who was just a year older than him and twelve days from childhood was his best friend. “Everyone thought we were twins,” she says. “My mother always taught us to be one for the other, so we were … We were a kindergarten next to a kindergarten, then we went to school in the same class. … Brothers sometimes curse each other, I never cursed Leonardo, he was everything to me, I called him ‘no,’ he called me ‘Pete.’ ” When Leonardo was three years old, his parents divorced and the children grew up with their mother, a nurse at the Haemek Hospital in Afula. Leonardo studied in Afula. He went to a kindergarten in the hospital yard, and part of the time his mother was his kindergarten teacher. From there he went to Ramot Elementary School in Givat Hamoreh, moved to the Brosh junior high school and from there to the Ort high school, where he successfully completed his thirteenth grade in the electrical track, and he was sure that he was surrounded by friends, sports and hiking. “I used to say to him, ‘No, it’s hard for me,'” says Saritah. “He used to say ‘sing it’ , It is hard only in bread, and it is also eaten. “And there were other sayings that characterized him:” What is difficult is done immediately, and what is impossible takes a little time. “” I live from day to day, (For example, he would reply when asked about his safety.) Leonardo joined the IDF on July 8, 1998. He was sent to the air force, underwent basic training at the Zikim base and, in accordance with his high school studies, was sent to a technical school course – an electrician course on ground equipment. “I remembered that he called me after a few days … He said he understood that it was not for him, that he wanted to be a combat soldier, and he was certain that all the borders were open to me if I was in the Kirya … I started printing letters, and all over the world I faxed a request to move from a non-combat unit to a combat unit, and he came to the induction center and apparently said, ‘I’m only going to Givati, otherwise I will not leave.’ He wanted only Givati ​​… “After the strike at the induction center, Leonardo was transferred to the Tzabar battalion in the Givati ​​Brigade. “I had the privilege of being the commander of Leonardo’s basic training and the Givati ​​Brigade,” said Shahar, who was a commander of Leonardo. I always said that this is the best person and soldier I have ever met, both in moral values ​​and emotional intelligence, and in terms of soldiering and meeting tasks. While in basic training I claimed that for me he was like another commander in the platoon. Loved by everyone, never broke and always willing to help. ” In August 2001, Leonardo completed an officers’ course and returned to the battalion as a platoon commander. Soon he was conspicuous in the battalion with his professionalism and intellect, his meticulous preparations for every mission, the sampled equipment, and the good lessons he passed on to his soldiers. After he was in command of a recruits at the Netzarim-Gaza line, he was appointed deputy commander of a company of recruits in March 2003. Before the end of the route, Leonardo was appointed deputy commander of the battalion’s battalion company, an old company in Kfar Darom. Lt. Col. Ronen, commander of the battalion, wrote: “Leonardo was a significant and important command figure in the battalion’s life over the years … From the beginning of his career as a combat soldier in the Tzabar Battalion and later as a commander, he demonstrated leadership ability and always aspired to excellence … Throughout his duties in the battalion, About dozens of fighters under his command. He was characterized by his constant concernAnd served as a guiding and supportive figure. “Yoel, a Leonardo soldier, said:” We quickly realized that there was something special here – a commander of a different kind, a commander who did not see any of them. a day. It was Leonardo… There was something else about him, a relationship almost invisible to commanders, warm and loving, hearty and caring. Like everyone’s father … just a heart of gold. He gave all his soul to everything he did … His love for his soldiers and for the army could always be seen. He was a central figure in the company, and it was impossible not to like him. “Yoel, for example, told how Leonardo decided that the company bunker was his project and made a magnificent corner, painted and decorated, and he was convinced that after a conversation with Leonardo, “Leonardo was sitting with me like a real friend and explained to me why we should contribute to the state, why it is important to go to command, to be an officer, to give everything for the state … Leonardo did not tell people to do something he did not do or did not believe at him”. Another soldier told of an unforgettable moment: in August, at the height of the heat, Leonardo went up to the position he kept-not to check him, but to ask him what he would like most of all. While the soldier was thinking, Leonardo handed him a bottle of cold Coke and allowed him to drink in the watch … At home, too, they knew about Leonardo’s wonderful relationship to his soldiers and to the unit. His sister Sarita says: “He was poisoned for Givati, for the Tzabar Battalion, and you could have done everything to him until he reached the purple cap, and he would not have touched his purple cap. He used to fill the car and drive among the soldiers he knew they did not have, that they were in distress, he used to fill them with a refrigerator for a month, not just for the holiday … he came home with a big bag full of Givati ​​key chains. All the key rings to put money into the company, he called me and said: ‘Sarita, do a round of the house from first to last shelf, bring bags, clothes, blankets, whatever you do not need. “The values, the professionalism, the courage and the cold, the striving for touch and the victory, the badness, led to the ability to lead and the voluntary leadership of his subordinates.” The soldiers admired Leonardo, he Leonardo was a real leader who made his soldiers act from the heart … He understood that a soldier should feel personally cared for, that he is no longer a soldier, that he has a name , A personality, that is important, that he is a human being. ” Leonardo fell in battle in the Kissufim region of the Gaza Strip on December 22, 2003. The following is a description of the act, from a certificate of commendation given by Major General Dan Harel, GOC Southern Command, on the Independence Day 2004 to Leonardo’s family: “On December 22, 2003, an armed terrorist was spotted at a position Pillbox 21 in the corridor of Kissufim. The commander of the company Major Hagai Bibi, the commander of the neighboring sector, listened at the time to the communications network and decided to take responsibility for the incident together with his deputy, Captain Alex ( Leonardo (Wiessman) of blessed memory. When they arrived at the scene, Captain Alex (Leonardo) Weissman z “l took off his vehicle with his commander, while conducting searches near the outpost, shooting at them and injuring Major Hagai Bibi, ) The late Wiessman.Capt. Alex (Leonardo) Weissman z “l worked with courage and courage when he threw a grenade at him, while the late Captain Alex (Leonardo) Wiessman was shot and killed. In this action, Captain Alex (Leonardo) Weissman demonstrated his determination while striving for contact, devotion to the mission and remarkable courage. ” Another force arrived and killed the terrorist and called for an evacuation. During the evacuation Leonardo died. He was twenty-three when he fell. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Afula. Survived by parents and sister. Leonardo was promoted to captain after his fall. “I really do not know what I’m going to do now, I’ll have to face it, maybe if I had a few more minutes I would ask him to tell me a few last things,” he said, “he would probably say to me: ‘Sarita, do not be sad. “His girlfriend told me, ‘You know, you sang, the most important thing that Leonardo had in life, you were his life.'” Maybe if he had told me this, If we had a few more minutes, I would also say, ‘No, you were my life too.’ ” Lt. Col. Ronen, commander of the Leonardo Battalion, wrote: “Leonardo has succeeded in proving that even in a rigid framework like the army, one can express the unique personality of each person … His character and contribution, as well as his last mission, will forever remain a unique element in the legacy of Givati, The soldiers of the Tzabar Battalion and the commanders, thank us for the great privilege that we have had to experience together with Leonardo one of the most important chapters of his life. ” The family gathered in a booklet of memoirs of Leonardo and his life story and the story of his fall. The title of the pamphlet is a sentence that characterized him – “a person lives in a world that he builds for himself.” The booklet opens with a poem written by Leonardo’s soldier, Daniel Idan: “Like a king who takes care of his people, like a mother who embraces her children, like children playing in the fields of happiness, so you loved them all … Like a sun, “Oh, Leon, why did you leave me like that without saying anything?” Yoel, a Leonardo soldier, wrote: “You have been privileged to raise a son for the glory of the State of Israel. Leonardo is not leaving me, she is everywhere, strengthens and encourages and gives strength to continue what has started – to preserve the State of Israel, to be a soldier in the IDF. “The Dahan family of Netzarim, who knew Leonardo when he served there “We feel great appreciation for you, the family, for the dedication you have given to your children for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel. The words that will express our great appreciation will diminish. “The youngsters from Netzarim, who got to know Leonardo when he served in the region as a commander, wrote:” Leonardo was imbued with a sense of national mission and destiny. Leonardo was a man of effort, a man of work, a man who never rested, labored, always demanding more of himself. He should serve as an example for us and those who follow us, an example of a person who by his own power has become a giant. We wish that we as a youngster will learn his way, and will follow the path in which he left his determination, his devotion and his simplicity. “On the Internet a site was erected in memory of Leonardo, with his life story and his fall, family and friends. A sequence of pictures of Leonardo in his life track, including his bar mitzvah, his adolescence and the army, at the end of the video a song is played in his memory: “When a man is born, he thinks about a future he will have / and when you were born you thought about the future of everyone / always when there was a problem You found the difficulty To ease, and despair to hope. So what will we do when you leave?Now Leonardo / love, concern, you always smiled to everyone / it does not matter who was Leonardo / let everyone feel special … “On Army Radio, as part of the project” We’ll soon be singing ” A song written by Leonardo and composer Shmulik Neufeld – “He wanted to love”: “He wanted to love, but he did not have who / he wanted to give, but he had nothing / he wanted one thing, charming thing / he wanted … He wanted to know other things / he wanted to climb the mountains but he wanted one of the best in the world / he wanted love. // He loved her, but she did not know / he told her, but she did not hear / but was Have a dream, a crazy dream / she will tell him Dream – I love you. ” As part of their matriculation exams, high school students decided to make a film about Leonardo, his life and the story of his fall.