Moshe Yedidya Raziel

Moshe Yedidya Raziel, z"l, of Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, died defending his kibbutz from Hammas terrorists as part of the kibbutz' volunteer security team.

He is survived by his wife, Shira, their three children, Tzuri, 7, Tair, 5, and Hadar, 2, as well as his parents, Rachel and Yisrael, and five siblings: Noga, Gideon, Tzila, Ariel and Leah.

Moshe and the other members of the kibbutz’s security team gathered early that morning when the rocket fire began, and split up into pairs to battle against the invasion of the Hamas terrorists of the small kibbutz, situated only around 100 meters from the Gaza border.

In the ensuing gun battles, Raziel was slain alongside his friend and fellow local security team member Amichai Witzen, after eliminating terrorists who had holed up inside a family home. The rest of the kibbutz was saved and later evacuated alive, though two were seriously wounded.

According to his wife, Shira, “The others told us how Yedidya led them, how he leaped forward without thinking twice. He was an exceptional commander, never unwilling to fight. He was a family man with clear priorities, with a sense of humor, with kind eyes. He always did everything as best as he could. He worked in mental health, he had the soul of a counselor, you could rely on him, we had conversations for hours about everything.”