From the hills of Jerusalem: DAY 11 PART ONE

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

DAY 11 PART ONE

This was a gut wrenching day in the War. Overnight and today we lost 4 soldiers in two separate friendly fire incidents. In the first incident, a Golani unit had taken over a building, and a tank fired at the building, either with the mistaken assumption that there were Hamas operatives inside, or an accidental shelling...it is still unclear. Twenty four other soldiers were wounded, one critically, and three severely, the rest sustaining light to moderate injuries. Under extremely heavy IDF protection, the injured were evacuated by helicopter and ambulances to hospitals in Israel. The three Golani soldiers who were killed in this incident were the following:

Staff Sargeant Nitay Stern, 21 of Jerusalem

Corporal Yousif Moaddi, 19, Druze Village of Yerka in the Galilee

Major Dagan Wertman, 32, Maale Michmas

The fourth soldier killed in a separate friendly fire incident was

Paratrooper Brigade officer Captain Yehonatan Netanel, 27, from Kedumim

Yoni Netanel left behind a wife and 3 mos. old baby.

All pictures from the IDF Spokespersons website:http://idfspokesperson.com/

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ISRAELI PROFILES

From Israeli Profiles

Meet Eliran Sasson, a young Israeli who recently fulfilled a dream he has had since he was a little boy – owning a motorcycle and biking.

At 23, Eliran is an excellent “master barista” at a fabulous neighborhood coffee shop in Jerusalem. (Shosh Café, Rh. Haserut 20). He is a bass guitarist, having played in several bands, and an aspiring engineer (soon to begin his studies program), but his heart, at the moment, is with his first motorcycle – a very cool “naked road bike.”

I have to admit, when I first heard the term “naked bike” I thought it must be some cute Israeli term, but it turns out that it is a universal word for a bike without metal covering over the various engine & exhaust parts – in other words a bike stripped down to the basics for performance and efficiency.

This long time dream to own a motorbike came to fruition a few months ago, when Eliran secretly began to take lessons towards getting his motorcycle license. (Mothers sometimes don’t want their sons to be bikers!) But soon Eliran’s secret was out in the open, and things quickly progressed from just wanting the license to actually searching for and purchasing that first bike.

Hoping to take mechanics courses designed for motorbike function and repair, Eliran is serious about this new/old love in his life.

I asked him what it was about biking that he loved and his answer was that when he rides the motorcycle, he feels one with the bike, like they are together a unit. He can see everything and feel the wind…it’s a bit like riding a horse, he said. He also likes it that there are fewer traffic and parking problems than when driving a car. Eliran would like to form a group of riders to ride together and tour the country.

Like all Israelis, Eliran served in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces – army). He was in the artillery corps. And, like most Israelis, after army duty he traveled for a while outside the country. He and some friends went to London where they lived and worked with other Israelis - not at the kiosks selling Dead Sea products, a very popular occupation for traveling Israelis - but for an Israeli entrepreneur who owns a network of food and coffee shops in various London neighborhoods. Orly, the name of the entrepreneur and also the name of her coffee shop, bakery and other places, offers a popular stopover for Israelis in London, and Eliran plied his skill at coffee making there.

I asked Eliran why he chose London when a lot of Israelis travel to India and Thailand and other eastern destinations. He said that his friend had been there a few times, and in Eliran’s words, “had a crush on the place”. Encouraging him to join with him and travel there, Eliran agreed and also "fell in love with the place" – the culture, the architecture, the people.

When he isn’t making coffee and riding his bike, Eliran stays tuned into his music…playing progressive rock with friends, doing a few gigs, and trying to put together a new band.

Some things will change as Eliran begins his studies this summer, but his devotion to biking is a lifetime love affair.

What are his dreams for the future? Eliran pondered my question and then said this: “The long time future is far away…I am concentrating on the immediate future for now… and then I will go wherever life takes me.”

The future in Israel is sometimes uncertain, and life can bring many things. Her young men and women understand this, responding like Eliran did, with wisdom and assurance.

It’s a privilege to know Eliran, and to know that he represents others like him, young men and women who are the future of Israel. Israel is in good hands.

And…I’m waiting until he gets an extra helmet, because I want to take a ride on this bike and feel the wind.

Our Fallen Soldiers - Operation Cast Lead - May Their Memories be for a Blessing

Name Withheld, Bedouin Tracker 23, NCO, Desert Patrol Givati Brigade
Omer Rabinovich 23, Captain Golani Brigade, Arad
Amit Robinson, 21, Sergeant Armored Corps, Kibbutz Magal
Roee Rosner, 27, Major, Haruv Battalion, Kfir Brigade, Holon
Alexander Mashevizky, 21, Sergeant, Combat Engineering Corps, Be’er Sheva
Yehonatan Netanel, 27, Captain, Paratrooper Brigade, Kedumim
Dagan Wertman, 32, Major, Golani, Maale Michmas
Yousif Moaddi, 19, Corporal, Golani, Druze Village of Yerka, Galilee
Nitay Stern, 21 Staff Sergeant Golani, Jerusalem
Dvir Emanualoff 22, First Sergeant Golani - Givat Zev
Lufti Nasereldeen, 38, Warrant Officer, Druze Village Daliat al-Carmel