David Ratner

Sergeant David Ratner, z"l, from Ashdond, fell in battle against 400 terrorist infiltrators of their military base. He was a fighter in the 13th Golani Battalion. David is the son of Haim and Miriam Ratner, leaders at Beit Hallel Ashdod Congregation of Messianic Jews. As a kid, David played for the youth basketball team, Maccabi Ashdod. 

Two hours after the start of the fighting, David was shot in the neck, after which he continued to fight and cover for his fellow platoon members for another eight hours. During the fighting, David killed approximately thirty terrorists, covered his friends, and thanks to him, five soldiers from the platoon survived the inferno.

David's former commander had this to say about him:

“I had the privilege of commanding him, he was the best fighter I've seen in my life, the first for any mission, the last to complain. A machine that does every task given to it with distinction.”