Yirmiyahu, Shlomi (Shlomo)

Ben Ruti and David. Was born on 14.6.1986 in Assaf Harofeh Hospital in Tzrifin, the eldest of four siblings, brother to Etti, Netanel and Yonatan, who grew up in the Ramat Eliyahu neighborhood of Rishon Letzion, Efraim “in the Yitzhak Rabin Junior High School and completed his studies as an outstanding student in his class at the” Makif Hashem “high school.” At the age of eleven he joined the Sensei Aryeh Necker Karate School, He has already gone to a European karate competition in Sweden, and Shlomi has made great progress in his studies and participated in many national karate competitions. Apart from karate, Shlomi developed his computer hobby, and he enjoyed spending time with his friends in clubs and enjoying the good life. It was clear to everyone that he would be a combat soldier. On November 28, 2004 he enlisted, volunteered for the Armored Corps and served as a gunner. He loved the service and the corps very much, and intended to attend the tank commanders course. Although he suffered injuries to the back that made it difficult for him physically, he vehemently refused to hear of any possibility of a change in the nature of his service that might have alienated him from his comrades in the unit and from his military position. Shlomi was introduced to everyone by the smile he always had on his face. He was kind, modest and quiet, and his immediate family was surprised to hear after his fall about things he did and about the people who helped them. In the Second Lebanon War, on July 12, 2006, Shlomi fell in a battle in southern Lebanon. On the morning of the same day, Hezbollah launched a large-scale attack along the Lebanese border and kidnapped two reservists – Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and First Sergeant Eldad Regev. Shlomi and his crew suffered heavy artillery shelling. When the kidnapping was reported, and when they were at the nearest post to the scene, the crew received orders to enter Lebanon and stop the terrorists’ escape vehicle. The crew found it hard to reach the tank due to the heavy noise, but with tremendous effort and insistence, the crew arrived at the tank, and together with “Negamon” began to drive towards Lebanon. At the time of entry into Lebanon, the crew managed to fire and hit a number of Hezbollah positions, but a short distance from the border near Hezbollah’s “flagship dome” outpost, the tank mounted a large ground bomb that destroyed the tank and killed the four crew members. First Sergeant Yaniv Bar-On, First Sergeant Gadi Musayev and First Sergeant Alex Kushnirski were among those with Shlomi. On July 14, 2006, just a month after celebrating his 20th birthday, Shlomi was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Rishon Letzion. Survived by parents, two brothers and a sister. On his gravestone, his family engraved the words “You will always be a hero.” After his fall, Shlomi was promoted to First Sergeant.