Zohar, Michael

Son of Esther and David, he was born on February 14, 1945 in Casablanca, Morocco, where he learned Hebrew with a private teacher who instilled in his students the love of the Land of Israel and the desire to immigrate to it. In the framework of the Youth Aliya in 1957, he was a member of the Betar youth movement. In Israel he was referred to the village of David Raziel in Herzliya, where he also studied carpentry. Due to the difficult financial situation in his parents’ home, Michael left the youth village and began to work in the profession he had acquired, carpentry, and his salary was given to his parents. Michael was drafted into the IDF in early November 1962 and volunteered to serve in the Paratroopers Brigade, where he was a regular soldier in a combat unit and was easily adapted to the army’s rigid framework. In the beginning of May 1965, Michael joined the merchant fleet as a chemist, and he worked for two years, but when he met Rina, his future wife, he opened his own carpentry shop, and the carpentry shop he established developed and flourished. Michael spent a lot of time in the swimming pool, and every morning he went to the Gordon Pool. He was a devoted husband and a loving father who gave his family everything they needed. When the Peace for Galilee War broke out, Michael was called up for active reserve duty, and on 20 Tamuz, July 11, 1982, he fell in battle in Lebanon. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Petach Tikva. He left behind a wife, two sons and two daughters, parents, six sisters and three brothers. In his letter of condolence to the family, his commander wrote: “He always did his duty with devotion and joy, while telling jokes and making friends with everyone, always telling stories about the family, the children, the work and the stories he learned from his stories.” David, Michael’s son, opened a memorial site: chtps: //yizkorleolam.com/in_memory_of/p101.