Son of Chava (Rebecca) and Noah. Born on March 19, 1975 in Moshav Hemed, the youngest son to his parents, a brother to Yael and Avi.

He began his studies at the Ma’alot elementary school in Bnei Brak and continued to the junior high school in Petach Tikva and Kfar Ganim Bar-Ilan High School in Tel Aviv, where he graduated with honors the 12th grade in chemistry.

From an early age, Danny was an active participant in agricultural farm work, in the chicken coop, in the field, preparing poultry for transportation and traveling to the agricultural market. He was a “moshavnik” at heart and soul, he loved the work of the land and devotedly engaged to it. Danny did not miss an opportunity, As a boy and as a young man, on vacation and even during school to help plowing, hoeing, and harvesting or jobs on the tractor.

Danny was active during the entire period of his studies in the Bnei Akiva movement, in the “Mevaser” tribe at his neighbourhood. He was always very physically fit, running all year round and playing basketball in Elitzur. In leisure he liked to delve into thinking games, which presented him with a challenge that he enjoyed cracking. A member of the moshav remembers: “I remember you with a smile and a heart at the same width, a shirt outside, always in a hurry, a model athlete, but despite your great love for the ball, when the time came, you left everything and ran to pray: ‘we Pray now’, you said, ‘ my dad is there, the sports field will wait.”

In September 1993, Danny enlisted in the IDF, and as a continuation of the Zionist education he absorbed at home, he enlisted in the parachuted Nahal Brigade to a battalion of kibbutzniks. On the warrior track he excelled, and as a token of appreciation for this he received a personal beret from his commander. Danny went on to a sergeant’s course, but when he was offered an officer’s course, he preferred to join his friends who had been sent to Lebanon. Danny did most of his regular service in the west bank and in Lebanon, his last position was in Tel Arad.

After completing service, Danny returned to the moshav to agricultural work, and at the same time began to study for a bachelor’s degree in economics and management at Ramat Gan College. In addition, Danny volunteered for the Civil Guard, a Matmid unit subordinate to the Border Police, and became a regular activist in the unit. In the spring of 1999, he was awarded a certificate of appreciation for his devotion and perseverance for years in the Kfar Chabad base.

Danny did not neglect sports and physical fitness, and devoted the evening hours to basketball games with his friends in the moshav.

On April 9, 2000, Danny married Einav and the two established their home in Moshav Hemed. In 2001 Danny began working with his father-in-law in the family enterprise, and together they prepared many plans for the future.

Danny, a brave man, honest and loving, was loved by everyone around him. He was always the first to help, and never complained about the difficulties he encountered. He had done many acts of kindness, but he always made sure that they were done discreetly. “A man with the smile of a child who loved life so much and everyone loved him so much,” as his friends say.

There was a special love between Danny and his young nephews. He used to go wild with them endlessly, and thus earned the nickname “uncle fun life.”

From the day he was released from regular army service, Danny served in the reserves in a company that assisted in an infantry battalion, He never missed a day of reserve duty, even the day after his engagement or during his examination periods, he took every call. The army had a supreme importance to him. For his devoted service in the reserves he received a medal of excellence from his commander. “From the first day of reserve duty until the last day, you would always see him in action, whether operational or in the administration … In the days when I was physically or mentally broken, I knew to look at him and be filled with positive energy, which Danny passed to everyone.”

In April 2002, Danny planned to travel abroad with his wife, this was supposed to be the first time he would be absent from reserve duty, but at the end of March, Operation Defensive Shield was launched. Danny was drafted and was, of course, one of the first to report. His unit was sent to fight in Jenin.

On April 9, 2002 Danny fell in battle in Jenin. In a unit citation issued by OC Central Command Major General Yitzhak Eitan, he described the battle: “During the fighting in the Jenin refugee camp, as one of the forces advanced towards a house, fire opened from several directions towards the force. In the ensuing battle, thirteen commanders and soldiers fell. The soldiers of the force he encountered, and another force that came to assist in the operation, fought valiantly to rescue their injured comrades until they were rescued. Despite the casualties, the company continued to fight until the surrender of the refugee camp. In recognition of the values of adherence to the mission, the courage, the friendship and the comradeship, the company is awarded a medal of commendation by the OC Central Command. “

Brigade commander Col. Didi Yedidya wrote in a certificate of appreciation that he gave to the family: “It was noted that the late sergeant Shmuel Danny Meislish served as a combatant in the company’s auxiliary unit, volunteered and came to Operation Defensive Shield. He returned fire to the sources of the fire for a long time confronting the enemy and backing up for treating and rescuing the injured until he was hit and killed. He was given a certificate of appreciation for his courage, determination and devotion under fire.”

Danny was 27 when he fell. After his death, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and was laid to rest in the cemetery of Moshav Ahiezer, overlooking the agricultural fields he loved, leaving behind a wife, parents, sister and brother.

Danny was killed on the very day of his two-year marriage. His wife, Einav wrote: “On the ninth day of April, in 2000, Danny and I stood under the wedding canopy, Under the canopy, Danny sanctified me with great love as the religion of Moses and Israel. I, Einav Maizlish, was chosen from all to accompany Danny in his last years. We swore to each other many times during our two years together. We swore with love, longing, and true faith that we would spend our lives together until the end…

“On the ninth day of April in 2002, Danny stood in the open air, without a canopy, but with the country, and with great love, Danny sanctified our homeland – as the religion of Moses and Israel …

I do not feel betrayed, I feel proud. Because the homeland is the woman and wife of many men in our country, but my husband is the one who has been able to fulfill the true devotion that exists in him for the sake of love. And if for the sake of the wife, whom he sanctified a few minutes before his death he decided to give up everything and go with his emotion, I know how much he would have given for me, his beloved, who he had sanctified before.

“I lost in the battle for emotion, but Danny won the nation’s battle.”

On the 30th day of his death, his mother, Chava, eulogized him: “To talk about your many qualities is impossible … As time passes we think about you and hear things you have done, we know that not only heroism was in you, There was a great deal of daily work too that puts together a puzzle of a great personality, and so with simply, without publicity or much talk.

“You left a mark everywhere, modestly and quietly, as if everything was self-evident, you were one of a kind, an Endless diligent, you were never tired, they said that you occasionally operated spare batteries, you were brave and honest. You could always be trusted. You were a boy between children and a serious man when needed … and you proved that…

“You left a good taste behind you, you went to heaven where only the righteous come, leaving a trail of light, a wonderful perfume of an exotic flower that has been picked, as if you were too good to fit into our physical world And you have become a peaceful spirit that will accompany us all our lives. “

In memory of Danny, a website was established – www.shmuel-dani.com ,On the site, family and friends tell about Danny they knew and loved.

In his memory, a Torah scroll was brought into the Moshav Hemed synagogue, where he lived throughout his life. In Moshav Hemed his family will build in his memory, a centre which will be used for activities of the Bnei Akiva movement there.