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Sunday, February 17, 2002
Two crewmen from ill-fated tank laid to rest
MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
After locating his mother abroad, the IDF announced on Friday that St.-Sgt. Ron Lavie, 20, of Katzrin was the third soldier killed in the attack on an IDF tank on the Karni-Netzarim road in the Gaza Strip Thursday night.
Lavie is to be buried this afternoon in Netanya, while his two comrades, St-Sgt. Asher Zaguri of Shlomi and St- Sgt. Moshe Peled of Rehovot were buried on Friday.
Lavie's mother, Yardena, was on a business trip in the US, and could only be reached on Friday. His brother, Udi, who had been away on a tour of the Far East, arrived home Friday and was informed of his brother's death.
Lavie was the tank driver. His close friend, Gilad Ze'evi, said the two grew up together, and recalled: 'His father and brother were also tank drivers and his entire life focused on tanks. He never complained about his army service.' Lavie was an ardent fan of soccer team Manchester United, Ze'evi said, adding that he was due to complete his army service in a year and had already began discussing the future.
The family are long-time residents of Katzrin, and Lavie's teachers recall him as a brilliant student. Besides his mother and brother, he is survived by his father, Yinon.
Hundreds attended Zaguri's funeral on Friday afternoon. Zaguri was meant to have gone home for Shabbat and not go out in the tank, but opted to change places with a sick comrade who was also from Shlomi. He was born and raised in the western Galilee town, and was described as a good-hearted person who was always willing to help others.
Zaguri's former teacher, Prahiya Elbaz, told Itim that his smile was one of the things that immediately came to her mind when thinking of him. Elbaz described Zaguri as very creative and loving, always wanting to help classmates.
Zaguri's commander said in his eulogy that, at one time, he had considered transferring Zaguri to a different unit because he was having difficulty. 'You told me with your charming smile, 'Brigade commander, you don't understand, I want to be a fighter. I love the battalion and the tanks.' I couldn't turn down your request, which was so strong and I left you in the battalion,' he said.
Zaguri's brother-in-law, Ohad, said at his funeral: 'I say now in the name of Asher and the residents of Shlomi and the family: We have received a terrible blow, we are hurting, but we will continue to stay in this land. Asher protected children in Netzarim because he wanted Netzarim to stay ours.'
Zaguri is survived by his parents, Yehudit and Michael, two brothers, and two sisters.
In Rehovot hundreds attended the funeral of St.-Sgt. Moshe Peled, who was raised in a religious family and was a member of the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Among the mourners was Shas Minister Eli Yishai, a cousin of Moshe's mother.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Doron Almog said in his eulogy of Peled: 'I have come to salute the path you took and the values you were brought up on, and to salute your courage and determination.'
Almog said the destroyed tank had reminded him of what he had remembered from the Yom Kippur War, in which Almog's brother was killed on the Golan Heights.
A family friend described Peled as an idealist who was already planning for the future and was due to be discharged from the army in a few months. He is survived by his parents, Tamar and Yosef, and his sister, Matilda.
Itim contributed to this report.
In Memoriam
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