School honors fallen soldiers as microcosm of Israeli society
Uri Grossman, Adam Goren, Benayah Rein and Alex Bunimovich came from very different backgrounds, but they fought together and died together coming to the aid of comrades in the Second Lebanon War
A school in Raanana has named its new library in honor of four Israeli soldiers from very diverse backgrounds who fought and died together during the Second Lebanon War. One of the four was the son of internationally acclaimed Israeli author David Grossman.
The four soldiers of the "Benayah Force" tank unit - Uri Grossman, Alex Bunimovich, an immigrant from the Commonwealth of Independent States, Adam Goren of Kibbutz Ma'abarot, and the commander of the squad and its namesake, Major Benayah Rein - were killed on August 12, 2006, when their tank was hit by an anti-tank missile shortly before a ceasefire took hold.
In honor of the bravery of the Benayah tank squad, Bilu school decided to name the new facility "the Library of the Four," and before construction even began, the students in the 5th and 6th grades learned about the four's legacy and very different origins, and even met with their families.
When in training, and in real actual battle, the ideological boundaries between the four blurred and they all worked together towards one purpose, and when another IDF tank was hit, the squad came to its rescue. As a result, their own tank was hit by a Hezbollah missile and all four were killed. They were given posthumous honors for their bravery.
In preparation for the construction of the library, Grossman met with Bilu School principal Micky Adler, members of the faculty and parents, and discussed the differences between Grossman's famoulsy leftist perspective and the views of the school's religious families.
"The talk was inspirational, with a deep understanding of patience and tolerance, with the hope of understanding that despite our different points of view, we're all one family," said Adler.
She said that the students of the school learned much from studying the lives of the four soldiers.
"They learned perseverance, thinking of others, loving your country, humility and compassion," she said.
Raanana Mayor Chaim Broide praised the library, calling it "a mirror of the true face of Israeli society, with all its colors and layers."
