Soldier killed in Gaza commemorated around the world
Friends of the Matan Gotlib, who was killed during Operation Protective Edge, brought stickers they designed along with them on their world travels, and placed them at each location to commemorate him.
Matan Gotlib, a staff sergeant serving in the Maglan unit of the IDF who was killed during Operation Protective Edge, never got to fulfill his dream of traveling the world, so his friends designed a sticker to honor him and placed them in all of the places he never got to visit.
Gotlib, aged 21 from Rishon LeZion, was killed on the 23rd day of Operation Protective Edge along with two other friends from his Maglan unit, Staff Sergeant Guy Algranati and Staff Sergeant Omer Hay.
While looking for a tunnel near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, IDF forces entered a booby-trapped building which collapsed on the forces, killing three soldiers and wounding several others.
Three months have passed since Matan's death but his friends are still having difficulty saying goodbye to their friend.
Many of them continued with their plans to fly abroad after completing their army service, but they made sure not to leave Matan behind, placing bumper stickers they designed to remember him at each location along the way.
"This is how he experienced the trip with us," his friends said.
From Nepal to Canada, Matan's friends carried bumper stickers that read "Peace Ya Man," the words Matan wrote at the end of a message he sent to a friend during the military operation. Matan had written the message to see if his friend was okay.
The friend, a fighter in the paratroopers who was also in Gaza at the time of the operation, only saw the message after Matan's death when he left Gaza for a short break from the fighting.
"On the one hand we feel that he is not with us but on the other hand we are bringing him everywhere with us," his friends said.
"Matan's death was very difficult for us, and it was clear to us that we must commemorate him and take pictures with him during our trips around the world," said Adi Marziano, one of Matan's friends, who traveled to Africa.
"Matan really loved traveling and even traveled himself to many places. He also had plans to travel, this is why all of his friends created the project to commemorate him and take him with us on our travels and remember what he really loved," she said.
"We got the idea for the project during the Shiva," said Matan's brother Nitzan Gotlib.
"My friends were already traveling around the world, and Matan's friends were about to leave for their trips and we thought it would be nice if they left for their journeys with a small reminder of Matan that they could place around the world. Maybe this way Matan can experience the big trip with them, something he never got to do," he said.
"Matan had already started to talk about his trip, and debated where to travel and who to travel with," Matan's brother said.
