Zinwert, Matanya Yitzhak

The youngest son of Chaya and Shmuel, brother to Ita, Shlomit and Meir. He was born on October 10, 1979 in Bnei Brak and grew up in Jerusalem, in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. He was a young boy when his father died after a serious illness, and two months later his cousin, Lieutenant-Colonel Meir Mintz, was killed in a battle in the Gaza Strip. Matanya was educated in Jerusalem at the “No’am” religious school in his neighborhood, and at the Bnei Akiva yeshiva in Nativ Meir, where he completed his studies. In his youth, he was a member of the youth movements “Ariel” and “Bnei Akiva”, and as an adult he taught at the “Bnei Akiva” branch in Kiryat Moshe. The sensitivity to the individual and the details and the desire to support others and to assist were among the cornerstones of his personality, and these characteristics were conspicuous in his work as a guide and later as commander in the army. He was a lover of peace and a true pursuer. Even as a young boy, one of his paintings shows people praying for peace, and the attention to the smallest detail is evident. He had a great love for the Land of Israel and for its land, and at every opportunity he found time to walk its paths. On 18.3.1999, Matanya joined the Paratroopers Brigade and began the training course of the commando unit, which excelled in navigation. He stood out as an excellent sniper, and at the end of the route he was offered an officer’s post. 890 – “Ephedra”. During the days of terror of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, his battalion was engaged in fighting in the Bethlehem area. He had a happy relationship with Moran, and they planned to inform the family of their expected marriage. On 20 Sivan, 20.6.2003, he had a few days vacation and planned to tell his family his joyful news. In preparing for his trip, Matanya asked his brother for his gun. An accident occurred and the gun discharged and Matanya was mortally wounded. He was laid to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Survived by a mother, two sisters and a brother. Later, in January 2009, his brother Meir suddenly died of cardiac arrest. His name appears in a pamphlet published by the family in memory of him, and a playground was erected next to the house where he grew up in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem. In his memory, a Torah lesson was held once a week at his mother’s home. On October 6, 2010, a ceremony was held in Jerusalem with the introduction of a Torah scroll in memory of him and the memory of his father and brother. For full memorial, see Hebrew bio.