The son of Mania and Yehiel. Born on Kibbutz Ramat Rachel on August 27, 1973, a third son to his parents, a younger brother to Uri and Ilan. Hagai, Nir and Nurit were born after him.

Eyal grew up in Kibbutz Ramat Rahel, south of Jerusalem. He attended the “Alon” elementary school in Kibbutz Ma’aleh Hachamisha and went on to the Brenner High School in Kibbutz Givat Brenner.

“Eyal was born with two blue eyes, huge and curious, his parents say, “there was no area in which he was not interested and excelled in. Everything he did was done in the best possible way.” From an early age, he was interested in all aspects of life, and from the time he learned to read, he read and absorbed every book he had received, he simply “swallowed books.” His ambition as a child, his parents say, was to be a geologist, an archaeologist or an astronomer.

Eyal loved animals, worked at the kibbutz’s Petting zoo and spent a long time there. In a certain period he concentrated the Petting zoo. He spent a lot of time living and caring for them with immense, love, dedication, and extraordinary responsibility. The Petting zoo and animals, were an important component of his world. When he was in high school, the trip to school took about an hour. Eyal used to get up early in the morning to check and feed the animals. When he returned from school he spent all his time at the Petting zoo, cleaning the place and taking care of the animals all year long, in the cold winter and the hottest summer days.

At Kibbutz Eyal he was active at the Youth Movement, first as a trainee and later as a youth counselor. He participated in a patrol unit of the Society for the Protection of Nature off Israel and over the years was a tour guide.

His high school skills and responsibilities were prominent in high school. Eyal made sure to do homework and chores and always came to school ready for lessons. His friends said that on the way to high school they would copy the home work from him or get an explanation of the material he was studying. Eyal’s notebooks served his teachers as a role model for many years, even after completing his studies

In Givat Brenner High School it was customary to prepare a thesis. Thanks to his sensitivity to others, maturity and political understanding, he chose to dedicate it to the study of the identity of Arab citizens of Israel and called it “Arab Israeli youth – between nationalism and loyalty to the state.” When he was preparing the job he went to Arab-Israeli educational institutions, asked the local people to fill out questionnaires and then analyzed them at the highest level. In 1992, at the end of his studies, he received a prize for outstanding work in the name of Gur Aryeh. “The writer succeeded in his work to clarify the concepts and positions that are common in everyday speech, without the speakers or listeners always insisting on differences in subtleties and delving into things …Eyal chose to study this issue, he says, because of its great importance in our time and country. Keeps the maximum Objectivity of presenting the material and presenting it in a very interesting and practical manner. “

After graduating from high school, Eyal volunteered for a year of volunteer service Which he made in the local chapter of the youth movement the No’ar ha – Oved Ve – Halomed in Rishon Le Zion. Where he met Lilach, his biggest love, who later became his wife.

Eyal was drafted into the IDF on December 10, 1992, to the “Nahalal” Brigade track. After serving as a combat soldier, he went on to an officer’s course and returned as an officer to the brigade, he commanded soldiers and was very successful in his position, always showing his soldiers endless responsibility and devotion, proving his professionalism and winning their hearts when he knew how to give a personal example of everything he demanded. , One of Eyal’s soldiers told the family.
At the end of the first year , he choce to leave the army, despite the pressures to become commander of the company.

Lilach’s love, was also released from the IDF and they went, as planned, to explore South America, and in their letters to the families they described their experiences: “We left in the morning and drove 250 km, “he Andes mountenes on the right and the left and is covered with green, rivers of waterfalls that fall dozens of meters and streams flowing through the trees, glaciers hanging on cliffs – this is the landscape all along the way …”

When they returned home from the big trip, they decided to institutionalize the relationship and get married. They moved to Be’er Sheva, where Lilach began studying behavioral sciences at the university. Eyal studied for the psychometric exam, and when he passed it he enrolled in university. At the time he had before he began studying, he turned to the welfare department of the Be’er Sheva municipality on his own initiative, asked to volunteer and began to educate a child.

Eyal studied chemical engineering in Be’er Sheva, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, with the aim of promoting awareness and solutions for the preservation of the environment. Although his data enabled him to choose to study any profession he wanted, Eyal chose to remain true to his principles and interests and to give up professions that were considered more profitable.

Eyal found a home at the university. He worked as a research assistant and later as a practitioner, spent days and nights in the lab, loved the work, and liked to tell about his studies. Each year he was awarded a scholarship for excellence and other prizes – and twice during his studies he was also an מצטיין דיקן. Despite his demanding studies, Eyal found time for other activities and was active in coexistence meetings held at the university with the participation of Arabs and Jews.
The lives of Eyal and Lilach in Be’er Sheva were happy. “Eyal was the optimal partner: he was a rare, optimistic, active and loving person, smart, curious and modest,” says Lilach. On Passover, when they went on a nature walk with friends, Eyal advised his wife how to overcome a difficult journey: “Do not think about the difficulty Choose a spot on the horizon, look at it and know that their you are going too” . This was the will he left for her, for during this trip Eyal was promoted to reserve duty from which he did not return.

Eyal was about to complete his bachelor’s degree with honors, and planned to study for a master’s degree at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Meretz voters in Be’er Sheva said that he spoke little, but immediately they realized that before them was a person with high abilities, who would stand out in the field of research and discovery.

His classmates wrote about him in an eulogy: “In every flock of birds there is the bird that flies first at this bird has to straighten the line, because it is the one who sets the course.thats how eyal was, the outstanding student of the department, great wisdom with true modesty”

In reserve duty, Eyal was stationed in the infantry Fifth brigade, where he served in the company’s פלוגת המסייעת, and his subordinates told him that he was meticulous, but realized that his meticulousness in every detail was of great value, and he showed them professionalism and devotion when his motto was to bring them home safely.

Following the wave of terrorist attacks and terrorist attacks of the “Black March,” in which more than 136 Israelis were killed in early 2002, and following the terrorist attack on the eve of Passover seder at the Park Hotel in Netanya, it was decided to carry out Operation Defensive Shield in Judea and Samaria, By order issued on 29 March 2002.

After a short training session, the brigade went to operational activity in Jenin, where they fought for eight days.

On the morning of the 27th of Nissan 5762 (April 2002), Eyal fell while serving 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. “

His friends, who returned from the battle, said that Eyal’s decision during the fighting brought the change in the course of the battle and eventually allowed the takeover of the sources of fire.

Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Yoel fell to 12 soldiers: Major Oded Golomb, Captain Yaakov Azulay, Captain Dror Bar, First Sergeant Tiran Arazi, First Sergeant Avner Yaskov, First Sergeant Yoram Levy, Sergeant Ronen Alshochat, Rav Sergeant Amit Busidan, Sergeant Major Menashe Haba, Sergeant Shmuel Dani Meizlish, Sergeant Eyal Azouri and Sergeant Eyal Zimmerman.

Eyal was twenty-nine when he fell. He was laid to rest in the military section of the Ramat Rachel cemetery, where he grew up. Surrounded by a wife, parents, four brothers and a sister.

In memory of Eyal, a two-hour film was produced in which family and friends from all of his life told about him and recall moments shared with him. The family told about coping with his death and a key motive for making the film – that Eyal’s nephews will get to know their uncle. His colleagues in the military service also speak in the film and told about the officer who bought the soldiers’ hearts for professionalism in every field, his direct and warm approach to each person, and the personal example he gave.

At the end of the film, all his participants, children an adults, are busy building facilities at the “Farm of Eyal” that was established in the kibbutz in his memory. In the course of their work, they said that this is the memory they want to instill – doing for the environment.

Eyal Farm is a therapeutic ecological farm established at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel under the joint initiative of the family and the kibbutz. The farm was established with the intention of continuing the path of Eyal, who loved animals and nature and worked in the field of environmental protection. On the farm they grow and care for various domestic animals, cultivate a vegetable garden and orchard of fruit trees, produce organic compost and build using various environmentally friendly methods. The farm offers various activities for children and adults, as well as animal care.

Eyal’s family established a fund in his memory, which is part of the establishment of the farm, and also awards a student award to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he studied. They awarded a student in the field in which Eyal dreamed to engage – research that promotes the preservation of the environment.