Ari Yehiel Zenilman

On September 29, Erev Sukkot, Ari and Chava welcomed their third child. Since Sukkot celebrates water through the Simchat Beit Hashoeva, they named their daughter Maayan. On the following Shabbat, Ari said goodbye to his wife and three children, grabbed his gear and joined his reserve army unit in the south. 

Ari was 14 and going into his first year of high school when he made aliya with his family in 2005. After high school, he spent 6 years studying at Yeshivat Har Etzion (Gush) and serving in the army. He then studied at Hebrew University, earning his BS in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). While earning his degree, he worked as a Research and Policy Analyst at the Kohelet Policy Forum. After graduating, he worked for the Central Bureau of Statistics, and started working at Mobileye as an Algorithm Data Analyst in September 2021.

It was truly amazing how Ari managed to fit his life into 24 hour days. Working as a data scientist at Mobileye, spending time with the children, studying for his MS in data science and sharing household chores, he always made time for Torah learning, and kept up with current events. He also enjoyed reading and was rarely without his Kindle or his Gemara – or both – in case he had some spare time.

Ari’s unit was first in Kissufim, then in Kibbutz Re’im, Kfar Aaza, and later in Nachal Oz. Early Friday morning, December 1, Ari called his family to say that he was handing in his cell phone. What he did not need to say was that he was going into Gaza. That was the last time his family spoke to him. Ari was killed in battle in Khan Yunis on December 10, leaving behind Chava, their 3 young children (5, almost 3, and 10 weeks), and devastated family and friends.

Zanilman, from the Mitzpe Nevo neighborhood in Ma'ale Adumim, 32 years old in his passing. His widow paid him tribute: "I promise you Ari, I will take care of the children - they knew exactly who you were". His brother said in pain: "My older, responsible and mature brother, I can't believe we have reached this moment" His father said over the grave: "We were privileged to be with you for almost 33 years and now we have a big hole in our hearts"
"You are a man of big ideas. Of vision. The words here that go through my head are not enough. I choose to say thank you. Thank you my love for bringing me from the inner integrity, for the uncompromising commitment, the family, the religious work, the faith, the studies."

"Thank you for the support, even though it required sacrifice. Thank you for the amazing family you gave me. Thank you, even in moments when you felt apprehensive, you always made sure to remind me for what it was for and to compliment me and see me and my difficulties."
"Thank you for the excellent cooking, for managing the household while combining work and studies for a master's degree. Thank you for love, for the partnership, for the support and joint growth."

"I promise you Ari, I will take care of the children. They will know who you were. I will teach them. We are so proud of you and we will forever be proud of you. We will do everything to make you proud of us too. We love you so much."

Ari's brother, Eli, gave a eulogy: "Ari, my older brother, the responsible and mature brother, the son who gives pride to father and mother, the loving husband, and the best father in the world, I can't believe I'm standing here and eulogizing you, that father who called yesterday I refused to believe, just a few months ago Maayan, a baby girl was born Such a little girl who radiates light and joy in these difficult times. But don't worry about her up there, we assure you that she will grow into memories of what a father she had."
"We will take care of Chava, her brother, Tali and Mayan for everything they need. We will tell you that you were wise and kind-hearted. Now we belong to the bereaved families of the State of Israel and on Remembrance Day we will come here to visit you, and on Independence Day we will say praise that we have this wonderful land."

"To all the people of Israel I want to say, we will not be broken, we cannot be broken, we will cry, we will mourn but we will rise, we will rise stronger and more united than ever and we will win, the eternal people is not afraid of a long road."
Ari's father, Robby, spoke in English: "Before there was Chat GPT we had Ari. Ever since he was young, Ari expanded our knowledge in "heavy" subjects such as mathematics, history, literature, finance, and also in lighter subjects such as sports and music. Sometimes he made fun of subjects that he didn't study, he just made things up."

"Most of all, he loved to study Torah. In his last year of studies, he enrolled in the reserve, and received a summons to Talpiot, but he said he was not interested. He wanted to be a combat soldier and be in the Hesder Yeshiva. We feel blessed to have been with him for almost 33 years. While we have a big gap In our hearts, and we miss him very much, what honestly saddens me is wondering how much he could have changed the world, if he had been given more time."

More can be read about Ari Zenilman in a website for his memory:

https://www.arizenilman.com/