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Gibor Yisrael:

The Heroic Story of

Elchanan Kalmanson

Rabbi Aron White

As the news of the Hamas invasion of southern Israel spread, hundreds of Israelis poured in from
around the country to help. While Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz and other kibbutzim were overrun by hundreds
of Hamas terrorists, elite IDF units, off-duty policemen and many “ordinary” citizens engaged in
heroic combat, without having been called up to duty. These heroes saved hundreds of lives – and
many of them paid for it with their own. One such hero is Elchanan Kalmanson. This is the story
of a father of five who jumped in his car, saved tens of lives, and died Al Kiddush Hashem.

n the morning of Shemini Atzeret, battlefield, in the pastoral setting of a who had seen their parents murdered or
42-year-old Elchanan Kalmanson’s usually tranquil kibbutz. kidnapped. In many cases, they had to
phone started pinging. As Otniel’s neutralize terrorists before they could get
Ohead of security and a veteran of the “Elchanan had trained extensively in into the house. They successfully freed
anti-terror security operations,” said his
Israeli security services (his precise role father, Rabbi Beni Kalmanson, in an inter- some families from their safe rooms, even
is still classified), he heard news of the view with Makor Rishon. “When he arrived, as their house burned around them. They
massacre early on. “It doesn’t look good,” the army had many special forces in Be’eri, would pack ten or twelve people into the
he told his parents and wife, “and I need but the terrorists had already overtaken back of a truck made for 4 and drive them
to go and help.” His brother Menachem tens of homes. The only way to help people out of the kibbutz before heading back into
and nephew Itiel joined him. They jumped was to go house to house, without know- the inferno. “Each time, we would say
in their car and drove towards the Gaza ing what you were going to find in each how much we don’t want to go back in,”
border, to the unknown. one.” said Itiel. “But we knew what we had to
do.” Hour after hour, the ad hoc “Tzevet
As thousands of rockets were fired into As the Shaldag special forces from the Elchanan” saved lives.
Israel, they kept driving towards the IDF tried first to secure the perimeter, In many homes, after neutralizing terror-
border. They heard that Kibbutz Be’eri ensuring no more terrorists could get ists, Elchanan would knock on the safe
was where they were needed most. Be’eri into Be’eri, Elchanan, Menachem and room door: “We are here to save you, open
Itiel took an armored truck from one of
is the largest kibbutz in the Gaza envelope, the soldiers there and began going from the door!” Several of the terrified families
and its 1,100 residents were now under house to house to evacuate as many res- were worried that Hamas terrorists were
attack by hundreds of brutal terrorists. idents as they could. They experienced trying to trick them into leaving the safe
They arrived at an unimaginable scene every possible scenario – in some houses room, and they would start asking ques-
– smoke rising from burning homes, the they saved entire families, in others they tions. “Which unit of the army are you
sounds of gunshots, screaming and explo- tragically discovered that there was no one from?” they asked. “Otniel – we are not
sions everywhere. This was a full-blown to save, while in others they saved children from the army,” he responded. If they were

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