[ZIAG] remembering friends who died- Yom Hazikaron 2008]
From Einav Ayalon, Shaliach of the Jewish Agency working at FZY in London.
Yom hazikaron
On Tuesday I went to the Yom Hazikaron ceremony at Nottingham JSOC. I was chatting to the students before the ceremony started and one of the students asked me if it's hard for me to be abroad and not to be in the country for Israel 60^th celebrations.
My answer to her was that it's harder for me not to be in Israel for Yom Hazikaron.
For the last 12 years my schedule for Yom Hazikaron was almost the same.
At 10 am I go to the Haifa cemetery to commemorate Aviv Mor and stand next to Aviv’s grave for the siren. At the grave I meet Aviv’s family and my friends from the army that also come. After the siren, there is a short ceremony dedicated to all those who were killed during their army service or by terror attack.
After the ceremony we all go to Aviv’s parent's house in Haifa where we hear and tell stories about Aviv and our army service and explain about our life now.
Around 1:30 pm we go to Hibat Tziyon which is close to Hadera. On Hibat Tzion we go to the grave of Gay Sarig and there is a short ceremony for all the soldiers from Hibat Tziyon who died in their army service and then we continue to his parent’s house.
Aviv’s mother was always in sorrow and you could see that it is hard for her to continue. Two years ago she committed suicide because she couldn’t bear it anymore. This was a shock to us all and showed us how hard it is to be in a family that lost their kids- “mishpacha shakula”.
As an Israeli that served in the army while Tzahal was still in south Lebanon I knew too many soldiers, friends that have died. In the following sentences I would like to share some of their stories with you in order to commemorate them.
*_Shachar Simany_*:
Shachar was born in August ‘73 (the same month and year as me)
He grew up in Ashkelon and started his army service in the Navy Seals (Shayetet 13), after a while he left the Navy Seals and started his way in infantry.
I met Shachar on the officer’s course.
I was an instructor on the course and Shachar was my soldier. On the evening of the 20.4.1994 Shachar left the base in order to go home and early next morning go to a doctor. I gave Shachar instructions about the way he should act on his way home and what he is allowed to do and what not to do. Shachar took a bus to Beer Sheva, called his girlfriend and said he is on his way and then hitchhiked.
Sachar got into a car with terrorists dressed up as religious Jews and was kidnapped. Shachar tried to fight and even injured one of them but they were more of them than him and he was murdered. The next day his body was found. I was one of the last people that he had a face to face conversation with before he died.
*_Aviv Mor:_*
Aviv was born on 27.3.1975 on Pesach that is Chag Ha Aviv (spring holiday) and this how he got his name. He grew up in Haifa and was a very happy person that enjoyed life.
Aviv went to the Nachal Brigade in the Infantry and did a sergeant course. When he finished the course he didn’t become a commander but decided to try and be one of the soldiers in the Navigation Platoon. At that time, I was in this company that is called "Peloga Mesayat” which means the company that helps the battalion. In a company like this there are three platoons:
Navigation- helping with navigation to the rest of the battalion, checking for intelligence information etc.
Anti Tank platoon The Mortar platoon.
Gay Sarig and I were the officers of the Mortar platoon, I was the senior one supposed to leave in a month and a half and Gay was to replace me. Our sergeant Asaf was supposed to finish his army service in few weeks time and we needed to find someone to replace him.
Gay decided that he wanted Aviv as his sergeant so we started to try and convince him. Asaf and Gay had conversations with him and when we felt that the time was right, I called him for a meeting and convinced him to be the sergeant. Aviv agreed.
After a while both Gay and I left the platoon and a different officer (Shalev) got to be in charge.
The battalion served in Lebanon and the company was based in Karcom (2 km from the Israeli border). On the 25.9.1995 there was an artillery attack on the base. Everyone got into the shelters except from few soldiers that had to stay in their post to see that the terrorist are not trying to attack the base.
Aviv was one of these people and he was injured from a shell. Shalev and a medic ran to try and help him. At the beginning he was speaking but because he suffered from a hit internally and he started to lose consciousness and died on the helicopter on his way to the hospital.
*_Gay Sarig _*
Gay was raised in Hibat Tzion and was a very cynic person and very smart. Gay started his army service in the Paratroopers and after finishing the officer’s course was based in the Nachal Brigade. Gay joined our company as the second commander in my platoon. From the first minute Gay didn’t really wanted to be there and was saying it all the time.
http://slk.sulam.org.il/k12/rupin/Docs/DocLib/meida/izkor/images/%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%92%20%D7%92%D7%99%D7%90.jpg>
After serving in the unit for around a year Gay decided to leave the Nachal and went to be an officer in the border police in the joint patrol.
The joint patrol was two jeeps, one an Israeli border police and the other one a Palestinian’s police car.
On Succot 1996 Bibi Netanyahu, the Prime Minister decided to open the Kotel Tunnels. On the 27.9.1996 Gay was in his base next to Tul Karem. The Palestinians started to shoot at the base. One of the officers was hit (later he died) in one of the post. Gay ran up to the post in order to rescue him and on his way a Palestinian sniper shot and killed him.
I remember hearing on the radio that two people were killed in Tul Karem. A few hours later I got a phone call from Amit, a close friend of mine who told me that something terrible had happened. On the spot I knew it was Gay. The next day we went to the funeral.
Today I am very close to the Sarig family and try to visit them whenever I can. I was at the weddings of Michal and Niv -Gay’s sister and brother
and Gay’s parents came to my wedding.
I brought Michal to guide for FZY and now she is the director of the Young Judaea Youth Short Programmes in Israel.
The Sarig family is remarkable and I am privileged to have such a close relationship with them.
I wish and hope that Israel won't know any more casualties and grief and that soon we will have peace with our enemies but till then we probably will have to continue and guard our country.
It is very hard for me not to be in Israel on this day and I hope that spreading out their story will help us all to commemorate them.
יהי זכרם ברוך
From Einav Ayalon, Shaliach of the Jewish Agency working at FZY in London.
Yom hazikaron
On Tuesday I went to the Yom Hazikaron ceremony at Nottingham JSOC. I was chatting to the students before the ceremony started and one of the students asked me if it's hard for me to be abroad and not to be in the country for Israel 60^th celebrations.
My answer to her was that it's harder for me not to be in Israel for Yom Hazikaron.
For the last 12 years my schedule for Yom Hazikaron was almost the same.
At 10 am I go to the Haifa cemetery to commemorate Aviv Mor and stand next to Aviv’s grave for the siren. At the grave I meet Aviv’s family and my friends from the army that also come. After the siren, there is a short ceremony dedicated to all those who were killed during their army service or by terror attack.
After the ceremony we all go to Aviv’s parent's house in Haifa where we hear and tell stories about Aviv and our army service and explain about our life now.
Around 1:30 pm we go to Hibat Tziyon which is close to Hadera. On Hibat Tzion we go to the grave of Gay Sarig and there is a short ceremony for all the soldiers from Hibat Tziyon who died in their army service and then we continue to his parent’s house.
Aviv’s mother was always in sorrow and you could see that it is hard for her to continue. Two years ago she committed suicide because she couldn’t bear it anymore. This was a shock to us all and showed us how hard it is to be in a family that lost their kids- “mishpacha shakula”.
As an Israeli that served in the army while Tzahal was still in south Lebanon I knew too many soldiers, friends that have died. In the following sentences I would like to share some of their stories with you in order to commemorate them.
*_Shachar Simany_*:
Shachar was born in August ‘73 (the same month and year as me)
He grew up in Ashkelon and started his army service in the Navy Seals (Shayetet 13), after a while he left the Navy Seals and started his way in infantry.
I met Shachar on the officer’s course.
I was an instructor on the course and Shachar was my soldier. On the evening of the 20.4.1994 Shachar left the base in order to go home and early next morning go to a doctor. I gave Shachar instructions about the way he should act on his way home and what he is allowed to do and what not to do. Shachar took a bus to Beer Sheva, called his girlfriend and said he is on his way and then hitchhiked.
Sachar got into a car with terrorists dressed up as religious Jews and was kidnapped. Shachar tried to fight and even injured one of them but they were more of them than him and he was murdered. The next day his body was found. I was one of the last people that he had a face to face conversation with before he died.
*_Aviv Mor:_*
Aviv was born on 27.3.1975 on Pesach that is Chag Ha Aviv (spring holiday) and this how he got his name. He grew up in Haifa and was a very happy person that enjoyed life.
Aviv went to the Nachal Brigade in the Infantry and did a sergeant course. When he finished the course he didn’t become a commander but decided to try and be one of the soldiers in the Navigation Platoon. At that time, I was in this company that is called "Peloga Mesayat” which means the company that helps the battalion. In a company like this there are three platoons:
Navigation- helping with navigation to the rest of the battalion, checking for intelligence information etc.
Anti Tank platoon The Mortar platoon.
Gay Sarig and I were the officers of the Mortar platoon, I was the senior one supposed to leave in a month and a half and Gay was to replace me. Our sergeant Asaf was supposed to finish his army service in few weeks time and we needed to find someone to replace him.
Gay decided that he wanted Aviv as his sergeant so we started to try and convince him. Asaf and Gay had conversations with him and when we felt that the time was right, I called him for a meeting and convinced him to be the sergeant. Aviv agreed.
After a while both Gay and I left the platoon and a different officer (Shalev) got to be in charge.
The battalion served in Lebanon and the company was based in Karcom (2 km from the Israeli border). On the 25.9.1995 there was an artillery attack on the base. Everyone got into the shelters except from few soldiers that had to stay in their post to see that the terrorist are not trying to attack the base.
Aviv was one of these people and he was injured from a shell. Shalev and a medic ran to try and help him. At the beginning he was speaking but because he suffered from a hit internally and he started to lose consciousness and died on the helicopter on his way to the hospital.
*_Gay Sarig _*
Gay was raised in Hibat Tzion and was a very cynic person and very smart. Gay started his army service in the Paratroopers and after finishing the officer’s course was based in the Nachal Brigade. Gay joined our company as the second commander in my platoon. From the first minute Gay didn’t really wanted to be there and was saying it all the time.
http://slk.sulam.org.il/k12/rupin/Docs/DocLib/meida/izkor/images/%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%92%20%D7%92%D7%99%D7%90.jpg> After serving in the unit for around a year Gay decided to leave the Nachal and went to be an officer in the border police in the joint patrol.
The joint patrol was two jeeps, one an Israeli border police and the other one a Palestinian’s police car.
On Succot 1996 Bibi Netanyahu, the Prime Minister decided to open the Kotel Tunnels. On the 27.9.1996 Gay was in his base next to Tul Karem. The Palestinians started to shoot at the base. One of the officers was hit (later he died) in one of the post. Gay ran up to the post in order to rescue him and on his way a Palestinian sniper shot and killed him.
I remember hearing on the radio that two people were killed in Tul Karem. A few hours later I got a phone call from Amit, a close friend of mine who told me that something terrible had happened. On the spot I knew it was Gay. The next day we went to the funeral.
Today I am very close to the Sarig family and try to visit them whenever I can. I was at the weddings of Michal and Niv -Gay’s sister and brother
and Gay’s parents came to my wedding.
I brought Michal to guide for FZY and now she is the director of the Young Judaea Youth Short Programmes in Israel.
The Sarig family is remarkable and I am privileged to have such a close relationship with them.
I wish and hope that Israel won't know any more casualties and grief and that soon we will have peace with our enemies but till then we probably will have to continue and guard our country.
It is very hard for me not to be in Israel on this day and I hope that spreading out their story will help us all to commemorate them.
יהי זכרם ברוך
