IDF Space Arnon Benvenisti/IDF Spokesperson
The devastating news of Arnon Benvenisti's fall in Gaza came as a shock to Yesod Hamaala in the Hula Valley. Benvenisti's family has already paid a heavy price in Israel's campaigns – his grandfather, Lt. Col. Yoav, was killed in the Yom Kippur War in a heroic battle for which he was awarded the Medal of Courage. In the First Lebanon War, Arnon Wasfi, Yoav's son and Vered's brother, Arnon's mother, was killed yesterday. And so remained his mother, who had already lost a father and brother, and the grandmother, Sarah, who had lost a husband, son and grandson.
In June 2019, when he completed the officers' course and became an officer in the Givati Brigade, Benvenisti's Bahad 1 website published a statement in which he described the life path he went through until becoming an infantry officer: "When we immigrated to Israel from Los Angeles, USA, I was only 9 years old. We lived in Safed and they sent me to study at a Chabad school in the area, but I couldn't manage there or in other educational frameworks I was in. I studied in a week-to-week format, and when I wasn't in class I went to the nearest farm to ride horses. Until I and those around me understood that this is where I belong, and where I will probably stay instead of military service. You are probably wondering how a guy like me from a Zionist family who immigrated to Israel is not willing to join the army at any price. The truth is that my family story is a little more complex. My family is a bereaved family. In fact, over the generations we have lost not one, not two, but four sons in Israel's various wars."
"It wasn't hard to understand my grandmother and mother, who weren't exactly happy to send me into battle." IDF Martyr Arnon Benvenisti and His Family/IDF Spokesperson
Lt. Col. Yoav Vespi was an armored battalion commander. He was killed in battle in the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. He was 33 years old, survived by his wife and three children. For his fighting, he was awarded the Medal of Valor for "displaying heroism in fulfilling a combat role with determination. In everything he did, he showed great courage, composure, leadership ability and resourcefulness." Ten years later, Arnon, his son, who was a fighter in the paratroopers, was killed in Lebanon at the age of 19. A year later, Nir Mizrahi, the son of her brother Yerach, was killed in the line of duty. In 1988, another of her nephews was killed in battle in southern Lebanon, Lieutenant Uri Maoz, son of her brother Kobi. In 1987, Omri Ben-Zakari, son of Yaakov, Sarah's second husband, was killed by a bullet in Lebanon.
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"It wasn't hard to understand my grandmother and mother, who weren't exactly happy to send me into battle," wrote grandson Arnon. "I've come to terms with the fact that I will never enlist. The turning point was at the age of 17, working at a horse farm in northern Israel, when I received the news that my father had died. I didn't know what to do with myself or how to proceed from here, but luckily I had the farm manager, Shai Canetti. He took me under his wing, lifted me up in difficult times and taught me about dedication, responsibility and love of the country through stories from his time in the Sayeret Matkal."I understood that this is the person I want to be, and I set myself one goal - to be a fighter and defend the country," Arnon wrote.
"It wasn't easy at all. Tests I filled out incorrectly and interviews I deliberately messed up – I had to take it all back and show how willing and willing I was to contribute. After a long and long struggle, I succeeded – you got assigned to warfare."
"I set myself one goal - to be a fighter and defend the country." Arnon Benvenisti and his family/IDF Spokesperson
"When I asked my mother to sign the combat draft consent form, I saw her fears resurface, and for a moment I worried that she wouldn't let me enlist. It wasn't easy for her to sign, but now she sees that every weekend I come back with a twinkle in my eyes and it's only growing. The same lightning has accompanied me ever since. From there I began significant service in the Givati Brigade Infantry Brigade, and from there I only continued to rise. You excelled at the end of the course, I met new people and finally improved my Hebrew - something I hadn't been able to do before. I can safely say that the army taught me more than any other school, and lifted me up high. Today I will march on the parade ground at Bahad 1 as a cadet in the Givati Brigade. Mom, Grandma and Shai will come to see me and witness the crazy process I did. I have no doubt that my father, grandfather, David Arnon, Uri and Omri will also be there and will be happy that I chose, despite everything, to continue on their path."
- More on the subject:
- IDF fallen soldiers
- Iron Sword War
- Gaza War