fbpx
Zamirin, Dan

Zamirin, Dan


Dan, son of Bella and Israel, was born on September 4, 1944, in Kvutzat Kinneret. He was educated at the Kinneret group, studied at the Degania Aleph elementary school, and continued his studies at the regional high school in Beit Yerah. Danny knew the taste of war from childhood: During the War of Independence, the Kinneret group was shelled day and night by the Syrians, and Danny, who was three, was evacuated to Haifa with his mother and his sisters. He was a nice boy, handsome and talented, and his acquaintances say that he was a little shy, withdrawn into his world. Eventually, when he reached school, he became an alert and diligent youth and an outstanding student. His teachers say he has the talent to learn without any particular effort. And thanks to his achievements in the survey he was awarded a high school scholarship. He devoted his leisure time to sports, chess and reading poetry and literature. Danny was eager for music and loved to listen to both classical and light music, and at the time he also learned to play the piano with Naomi Shemer, the daughter of Kinneret. He was also blessed with the wisdom of his hands, and liked to do handicrafts, especially carpentry. A sociable boy Danny and his friends spoke in appreciation of his virtues, his modesty, and his willingness to help anyone when needed. Dan was drafted into the IDF in August 1962 and volunteered for the Israel Air Force after completing basic training and was authorized to wear a paratrooper’s wings, He took part in an Armored Corps course and was one of the outstanding students in the course, and the late Lieutenant General David Elazar gave him the rank of officer. At the end of the course Danny volunteered to serve in the Armored Corps patrol unit, which operated on jeeps. Even after he was discharged from regular army service in August 1965, he remained in the Sayeret, where he fought in the Six Day War and was already an officer in the reserves with the rank of lieutenant. He participated in battles in Jenin and Nablus and was among the burglars to the Golan Heights. Danny was a good and talented officer who knew how to cope with difficult situations, had deep professional knowledge, and never considered strict discipline and military manners. After the battles of the Six-Day War he was shocked by the scenes of war and the loss of both sides. He fulfilled his military duty as best he could, out of a feeling of duty and recognition that he had to fight and defend his country, but at the same time he was thinking about our relationship with the Arabs and looking for a way to compromise and peace. After the liberation, he returned to his home in the Sea of ​​Galilee and worked for two years in the banana plantation, the traditional branch of the Zamirin family. While working in the plantation, he completed his studies for a matriculation certificate and decided to continue studying in a university framework. He loved geography and literature, and was very talented in the real field of study. He enrolled in mathematics and physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and studied there for three years. Despite long periods of reserve service, he was well-paid and received a BA in both departments. In August 1969, while studying at the university, Danny married his girlfriend Judy, a student who came to Israel as a volunteer from the United States. When the couple completed their studies, they returned to the Kinneret group and Danny began teaching mathematics and physics at the regional school in Beit Yerah. His Lev was not inclined to engage in teaching, but he did so out of a sense of responsibility for allowing him to learn. He was very successful in this work, and was popular with his students and colleagues at school. At the same time, he joined the Labor Party’s young guard. About a year before the Yom Kippur War broke out, Danny and Judy planned to travel to California to study architecture. He was admitted to Berkeley, but rejected YatzHe left him one year after his students urged him to continue teaching them. He spent his holidays working in banana groves, handicrafts and at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. His busy life was interrupted overnight, in October 1973. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Danny hurried to call his unit in the Armored Corps. He said goodbye to his wife and parents on Yom Kippur eve and went out calm and serious. He was sent to the northern front and commanded a tank company that fought to stop Syrian attacks. In a battle that took place on the 8th of Tishrei 5734 (October 8, 1973) west of Hosheniya, Danny was killed by a shell in his tank while standing in a turret. He was brought to eternal rest in the Kinneret cemetery. He left behind a wife, a father, a mother and two sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to the rank of Major. In a letter of condolences to the bereaved family, then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan noted Danny’s extensive activity in the Armored Corps and wrote: “His commanders defined him as an efficient, professional, proactive, intelligent, self-confident officer; Knesset Member Aryeh Eliav wrote to the Zamirin family in a condolence letter: “From what I read how Danny fell, falls on me again and again and renews gloom and terrible sadness for Danny and thousands like him, good of the best, precious and wonderful …” Danny’s family and friends in Kinneret published a book In his memory are memoirs and remarks about Danny’s character and way, as well as letters and notes written by him; Lists of his personality were also published in the Kinneret Group newsletter, in a flyer commemorating the members of the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights, who fell in the Yom Kippur War, and in the “Ella Azkarka” booklet published by his patrol battalion in memory of his soldiers who fell in the Yom Kippur War.

Skip to content