Page 45 - HaMizrachi Yom HaAtzmaut AUS 2021

jumped onto the grenade, using his own When he finally reached the building,
body to save the lives of his men. he heard his name. “Menachem! Over
here!”
As he lay wounded, Roi ordered medics
to first tend to another injured soldier. Menachem found the wounded soldier,
assessed the situation, and realized his
He knew they couldn’t save him. hands were already doing what they

Ro’i Klein has become a symbol of hero- should.
ism, self-sacrifice and Kiddush Hashem. He helped evacuate the soldier and
was soon running back to care for the
He was awarded the Medal of Courage others.
after his death.

Keeping Calm
The Heroic Medic
March 8th, 2012.
January 8th 2009. The Kfir Brigade’s Lavi Battalion
Operation Cast Lead. received an order to make an arrest in
the hostile Arab village of Yata in the
On the morning of January 8th, medic South Hebron Hills. distract Gal. Suddenly, another Arab
Menachem Tzik was in Gaza with jumped Gal with a knife from behind
his platoon. His deputy commander Usually, when there’s an arrest, it takes and the first guy came back to grab Gal’s
ordered him to stay behind, as others place at night, and the team receives hand.
aerial photos or information the day
began to purge the area. before, so they can plan ahead. Gal managed to shake both men off, but
Suddenly, rockets hit the building the This time though, it needed to be not before the knife had cut his throat.
soldiers had entered. immediate and during the day. Gal knew he had to stop them before

“Medic! Medic!” While the operational team arrested they got lost in the crowd.
Menachem rushed into enemy territory, the suspect inside the building, the He shot four bullets in their direction,
14-strong assisting team, including sol-
straight into enemy fire. managing to hit them both.
dier Gal Weingarden, stood guard out-
“Get down!” his deputy commander side, keeping a safe distance between Dripping with blood, he staggered to the
yelled. the building and a mob of about 500 jeep, collapsing on the floor as another
angry Palestinians who had rapidly soldier rushed to stop the blood.
Menachem had no time to get down. gathered outside, flinging rocks, Molo-
He had lives to save. tov cocktails, iron bars and anything Thanks to Gal’s ability to stay calm
and act coolly, the two terrorists were
Realizing he would run faster without it, that came to hand at the IDF soldiers. arrested and the interrogators exposed
he dropped his weapon and ran through Suddenly, one of the villagers began a slew of previously unknown terror
the bullets whizzing millimeters from walking towards Gal. plots.
him. Gal ordered him to stop and go back. In saving his own life, Gal had saved the

To Menachem, it seemed like eternity; This was a closed military zone. lives of many others. “Maybe,” he says,
he felt as if he were running and run- The man began to retreat, then ran “But I don’t think I did anything out of
ning, but not getting there. toward the other soldiers, trying to the ordinary.” n

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