Zagel, Boaz

Son of Esther and Nachum. He was born on May 22, 1963 in Haifa. When he was eight months old, he went with his parents to visit family in London, England. In 1965, when he was two years old, the family, following the father’s mission, moved to Naples, Italy, where he began his first steps in kindergarten, and his first language was Italian in Neapolitan dialect. In late 1966, at the end of the mission, the family returned to Kiryat Motzkin. Boaz, who encountered language difficulties, was assisted by his older brother, Michael, who served as an interpreter for a short period of time until he spoke Hebrew again. He was integrated without any problems at the Kiryat Motzkin kindergarten. Boaz studied at the Achdut elementary school in Kiryat Motzkin. He was active in the immigrant camps and engaged in sports activities, especially judo. In 1977 the family went on a second mission, this time to Sydney, Australia. Boaz studied at the Moriah High School in Sydney and was involved, like the rest of his family, in the life of the Jewish community. He was active in public work, which became a mission – representing the State of Israel to Jewish youth in Sydney. In his special personality, he managed to instill awareness of the Land of Israel, the Jewish people and the IDF, and made young people who had not previously shown any interest in being involved in Israel and visiting Israel. Parallel to this important activity, he wrote poems in English and was active in various sports, in which he represented the Jewish youth movement in Sydney. After completing his studies in the 11th grade, the family returned to Israel and moved to Haifa, where Boaz completed his high school studies at Ironi Hey High School in Haifa. He trained in fitness training and even took a Gadna diving course and aspired to serve in Golani, during which time he enjoyed fun with his friends and girlfriend, and was drafted into the IDF in late 1982 and assigned to serve in the Golani reconnaissance unit. During his service, he underwent a paramedics course and was scheduled to leave for an officers’ course in May 1984. On February 21, 1984, Boaz was injured in an accident during a brigade exercise and was unconscious at the Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem. Two weeks later, he was transferred to Beit Levinstein. On the 17th of Elul 5745 (August 17, 1985) he died of his wounds and was brought to eternal rest in the military cemetery in Haifa, leaving behind his parents and two brothers Michael and Dan