staff sergeant alex assaf
Alex was born in Kiev to a mother who had suffered during the Chernobyl disaster. At the age of six and a half, Alex was brought alone to Israel. While his mother followed a few years later, it soon became clear that she was still unable to care for her son. He was placed with the Assaf family in Karmiel who embraced the youngster with the warmth and love of a happy, supportive family. At the age of 18, Alex, who for years had felt at one with the family of Tzipi and Meir, officially changed his last name to theirs, Assaf. In reminiscing about his friend, Tal Kra-Oz recalled, “My first memory of Alex is of craning my neck up at him as he told me, totally off-handedly, that he planned on a military career. To say such a thing on the first day of basic training, when you are the lowest of the low, and when the furthest most can see is to the end of that day’s training, or the weekend at most, required some hubris or naiveté. But that wasn’t Alex. He had a special sort of calm about him, and it was only after he died that I realized how tough he must have been, and why basic training didn’t scare him.”
Alex was killed during action in Southern Lebanon on August 23, 2006. He was 22 years old.
Alex was killed during action in Southern Lebanon on August 23, 2006. He was 22 years old.