Giora Ron

A quiet, reserved young man; lover of art, music and philosophy and an avid runner, Giora was killed in Lebanon at the very beginning of the war in 1982.
Giora was one of Kibbutz Ein Gedi's first sons. His parents, Ruti and Eli, were among the kibbutz's first settlers, arriving two years after it was officially founded. At that time, the only road to the kibbutz was a dirt road, via the southern city of Beersheba, and if you were lucky, it took only 6 hours to travel it. Giora flourished in the small, closed community. He studied in a high school in the city of Arad (a one hour bus ride) and as an outstanding student , he was elected to represent his school as part of a youth delegation sent to England under the auspices of British Jewry.

The year following his graduation from high school he spent as a volunteer youth leader in Kiryat Ekron. It was during that year that Giora developed profound social relationships and a great love to art, music, literature and philosophy. Of course, running still remained an integral part of his life.

In spite of the fact that Giora found his army service difficult and felt his life was stagnating, he was an exemplary soldier and commanding officer, admired by his fellow soldiers and respected by his fellow officers. He believed in the importance of convincing and explaining, rather than demanding. This is well seen in what he wrote to his parents, prior to his participation in the prestigious Israeli Independence Day ceremony for outstanding soldiers at the President's House, "... when I was a squad leader, I would ask and even beg my men...How could I possibly demand someone else to do something I command him to do? In time, this feeling passed but sometimes when I would think about it, I would catch myself... I almost never ask things of other people, only what is essential to my very existence." A few months before his scheduled release from the army, war broke out in Lebanon. Giora participated in the IDF advances on the coastal highway. He was shot in the back by a sniper in Ras Nebi Yunis from a house with a white flag raised atop its roof.