Son of Faina and Leonid Hacohen. He was born on May 12, 1976 in Ukraine, then in the Soviet Union. The eldest son of his parents and the first grandson of Holocaust survivors. Everyone used to call him Alex. “Our child was born of great and true love after three and a half years of difficult waiting,” says his mother, “the process of giving birth was very difficult when my son and I were in mortal danger. The world Alex did not even cry and the doctor was amazed and said, ‘A special person will be your son.’ ” From childhood, Alex was an adult who loved to help everyone, showed extraordinary affection for his parents, relatives and friends. He began his studies in elementary school No. 35 in his hometown, Lvov, Ukraine, and was discovered as a curious child and a successful student. When his little sister Lena (Ilana) was born, he showed great love and responsibility, and when he was nine, his parents trusted him when they had to leave the house. Alex was attentive to her needs, fed her, and looked after her perfectly. In the first grade, Alex was diagnosed as a gifted athlete and began training at the local university in light athletics. In the following years he also dealt with soccer, swimming and boxing, and in all areas he excelled and won prizes. In 1987, when the economic and political changes that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union (known as Perestroika) began a few years later, the Jews in Lvov were allowed to open a synagogue, which until then had been closed and served as a warehouse. Alex, who from a young age nursed his grandfather and grandmother, Holocaust survivors, values and Judaism, was very proud to have helped to prepare for the opening of the site and participated in the opening ceremony. Shortly afterwards, he joined a Jewish dance troupe in his city and later, when he was one of the soloists in the band, he opened every performance dressed in a West with a skullcap on his head and a proud face. In 1989, Jews were allowed to leave the Soviet Union. Alex demanded that his family immigrate to Israel, and in April 1990 they arrived in Israel. Only then, at the age of fourteen, did Alex pass circumcision and went up to the Torah at a Bar Mitzvah held for him in a synagogue. The circumcision, says his mother, passed without anesthesia at his request, saying, “I want to feel the covenant!” The family lived in Jerusalem after immigrating to Israel, and Alex graduated from high school in the ORT school in Ramot. In 1994, Alex fulfilled his dream and enlisted in the IDF, serving as a combat soldier in the Givati Brigade in the Shaked Battalion, including periods in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip: “About his love of the army we learned from his soldier level, his meticulous accuracy, Measured soldier. Alex was undoubtedly the professional soldier in our unit, and contributed his talent to anyone who needed him. “In 1995, during his service, Alex married his wife Ora and the couple moved to Kiryat Arba, where his parents also moved in. “We have become an extended and Simcha family,” his mother writes. “The sounds of laughter always came from our home. Alex was able to give and give Eyal five and a half years as a father, not every father would have succeeded in giving him all his life. “At the end of his service he worked as a security guard in his home town of Kiryat Arba, “They moved my garden to a new place, an emergency exit is locked and the lock is rusty and no one has a key … What do we do? Call Alex and ask for his help … and within a few minutes Alex comes with tools, a new lock and a fleet of keys to distribute to the entire team. Alex was a caring, practical and quick man. “Another teacher wrote:” Alex communicates with me responsibility, authority, high motivation, a great desire to contribute and help … Alex had a mischievous sense of humor despite his practical seriousness, knew to relate to serious situations with ZionThe absurdity of the smile … He appreciated his effort and his words were always a word of appreciation. “After his discharge from the regular army, Alex’s team served in the reserve unit in Kiryat Arba, and volunteered for the town’s readiness class, On November 15, 2002, terrorists opened fire at IDF soldiers patrolling Hebron, on the worshipers’ route between Hebron and Kiryat Arba. In the ensuing battle, which lasted until the house where the terrorists were held, 12 soldiers fell, including three members of the Kiryat Arba emergency squad who were called to the scene. One of the casualties in the battle was Sergeant Alexander Zvitman, a member of the emergency squad who was called from his home. Among the casualties were 11 soldiers: Colonel Dror Yitzhak Weinberg, Superintendent Samih Sweidan, Lieutenant Danny Cohen, Sergeant Shani Tomer Nov, Sergeant Shani Gad Rahamim, Staff Sergeant Yitzhak Buenish, Staff Sergeant Yeshayahu Davidov, Sergeant Alexander Duchan, Sergeant Igor Drovitzky, First Sergeant Netanel Machluf, First Sergeant David Marcus. Alex was twenty-six years old when he fell. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem. He was followed by a wife and son, parents and sister. The Kiryat Arba emergency squad, whose three members – Yitzhak Buenish, Alex Duchan and Alex Zvitman – fell in battle, received a commendation from Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon in April 2005 for her part in the operation. His father, a boy in my class asked how I was not sad all the time. I explained to him that if you lose something precious you will not cry about it every minute. Some nights I get up in the middle, go to Mama and start crying because you’re missing me. I really miss you. I’ll keep writing to you. Bye. “Nurse Lena:” Dear brother! Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday and now we are both the same age. I miss you so much that it comes to scream to the whole world! How is it possible that you are not here with us. We got tired of waiting for the door to open one day, come in with your broad smile and say it was all a joke. Our beloved always remember and miss a lot! “Writes Faina.” Alex was Yaffa inside and out. His help to others was boundless and not dependent on anything. I discovered that after his death, when people came to me and told me how one brought food when he was not there, after helping to get his work back … The wife who broke her leg gave his cell all night so she could be in contact with her family, and the list never ends. Alex’s great love and loyalty to us and to his sister, wife and son, to the people and to the state, can serve as an example to everyone. With great pride I can say that he was ‘the salt of the earth’. People like him are standing in the State of Israel, and will continue to stand “
