On Friday, May 30, a memorial ceremony was held to dedicate a city pathway in the name of Sgt. First class Ori Yaish z”l, a city resident, at 19 Rivka Imeinu Street, with the participation of family members, friends and residents who came to pay tribute to his memory.
When the war broke out on October 7th, 2023, Ori enlisted in the reserves. In his administrative role in the reserves, he became a messenger who brought light and warmth, as he took care to deliver letters to families and bridged the gap between the war front and the home front. Ori believed in peace and was a pacifist, and despite this, he made sure to contribute in his own way and enlisted in the army.
On Friday afternoon, February 16th, 2024, Ori had completed another week of reserve service and was on his way home. While he was at the Re’em junction, an armed terrorist opened fire on people standing at the bus stop. Ori was fatally injured.
Ori was serious and creative on the one hand, modest and funny on the other. Everyone who knew him knew that he could be trusted, and he was endowed with high emotional intelligence, always helped, and advised his friends and loved ones. They also say that he knew how to live in the moment, to move, to make people laugh, to sing rap songs that he loved to improvise, and to play his guitar that he would take out after family meals.
The path is located at 19 Rivka Imeinu Street. His personal story, like the story of the rest of the city's war dead, will be forever intertwined in the steps and paths named after them, in moving municipal commemorations that are held together with the bereaved families. At each step and path, there is a memorial stone with a QR code that can be scanned, telling the story of the fallen soldier.
On Friday, June 20, a memorial ceremony will be held to dedicate a path in memory of Sergeant Yahav Maayan, who fell while defending the homeland in the Gaza Strip.
