But heavy rain fell on the Judean plain yesterday, following the sad news of the deaths of two IDF officers, Major Ofek Aharon, 28, a resident of Gan Yavne, and Major Itamar Elharar, 26, a resident of Moshav Bnei Ram – two localities A few kilometers apart, Elharar was laid to rest yesterday in the military section of the Kiryat Malachi cemetery, and Aharon was buried not far away, in the military section of the Gan Yavne cemetery.
In Moshav Nir-Zvi, members of Aharon’s staff gathered together, who served with him in the Egoz unit from the time he was drafted until he said goodbye to them and went on an officers’ course on his way to long-term permanent service. Together they recalled memories and shared the pain.
“Ofek was a special person, the value of evil was the most important thing in his eyes,” said Guy Peskovich, one of his teammates. “In every step and movement he could see leadership and commitment to the mission. He excelled in training and all the track, and when given the opportunity to command a class we saw that he was revered in the eyes of his soldiers. “We had an authoritative figure, someone to believe in. He had a high emotional intelligence, and he always knew how to say the right things.”
According to Peskovich, when Aaron left the team after two years and began the command and officer track, his absence was felt. “We had continuous friendships in combat experiences. He kept climbing the officers’ ranks until he commanded a battalion of warriors in Walnut. He had a promising future, he could reach the position of Walnut Commander. Alongside being a friend, we saw in him a huge figure.”
Ofek Aharon was born in Eilat, but as a child his family moved to Gan Yavne. He was engaged, and planned to get married in the coming months. Yaniv Barak, a teacher at the ORT Gan-Yavne school, says that he recognized the leadership and command skills as early as Aharon’s childhood. “We have a leadership project at the school called ‘Power Group,'” he says. “The students in the project invest beyond their studies in a program of Zionism, leadership and fulfillment, visit IDF bases and prepare for valuable service. Ofek was a member of this group. He excelled in sports, and was an exceptional footballer with high leadership ability.
“From the initial acquaintance with him it was clear to me that he intended to go far in the army. He was always stubborn and sticky in every mission, but above all he was a lovely guy with a good heart, and a smile that does not go down. This news is hard for us, very hard.”
Major Ofek Aharon’s father, Eli, paid tribute to him at the funeral: “Your modesty is what led you to the summit. You have always held senior positions – as a soldier, as a commander, as a person of his stature and above. You were a brother, a son, a grandson, a brilliant uncle – with a wonderful wife. “
His sisters, Daniel and Gali, said in tears, “Our brother, our pure child is successful. You had some plans. Some things you did. You did not want to die. You kept them all but they did not keep you. Love you, you are our hero.”
In Moshav Bnei Ram, the photo albums were retrieved, along with the stories of Major Itamar Elharar, who grew up in Bnei Ram but has lived in Petah Tikva with his wife Or since their marriage, about a year and a half ago.
His wife paid tribute to him at the funeral: “On the day of the canopy, they asked me what Itamar was for you. My answer was that he is everything, he is my peace, quiet, love. The last three years with you have been the happiest in my life.
“We jointly chose military life out of a complete knowledge of the difficulty and of what could happen. For me it was not a difficult decision to make. I saw how happy you are with your mission and how much you love your soldiers. It made me strong and happy.”
Nirit Kana, a resident of Bnei Ram, had known Elharar since childhood. As a middle-aged teenager, she says, he took on a prominent role in the ILAN summer camp for children with special needs that took place in the moshav. Itamar instructed at the summer camp, but wanted to contribute more – and so it turned out that he was given responsibility for the issue of finances, which I accompanied. As a kid, I knew him because he came to the library while I was a librarian. But at the summer camp I was exposed to his seriousness: he was just a boy, but took the subject so seriously and paid attention to everything that was needed. There was a sense of working with a really older guy. “
Uri Wolf served as a sergeant in the Golani, when Itamar was a sergeant major in his company. “I saw him as a commander who at the time was also a man,” says Wolf. When he would wake me up in the middle of the night to do a certain order or activity, it was always with a smile. We would get up and burst out laughing at little things.
“He always made sure that his soldiers would be the best. When he left the company and went on to another position, he bought the soldiers a ping-pong table. If there were days of decline in morale and mood, he would go to the checkpoint and buy snacks for everyone, pick up the mood. After hard weeks in the company they would do a barbecue or a company evening, and he would always donate more money so that everyone would have fun. I know that even for soldiers who were in difficulty or shortage, he would secretly take care of them, and ‘complete’ what they had to give. “