The strength in giving: Family of Barak Haim Ben Valid OBM carries on his legacy
Sgt. Maj. Barak Haim Ben Valid, husband of Anna and father of Noga, son of Yaffa and Avi and eldest brother to Noam and Eilon, was killed Jan. 22, 2024, in a building collapse in the central Gaza Strip that claimed the lives of 21 soldiers during the war. He was 33.
1 / 4
His parents chose the name “Barak,” meaning lightning, as a symbol of strength. “From a very young age he had traits of integrity and humility,” his father, Avi, said. “He had a highly developed sense of justice, something truly unusual for a small child.”
Barak grew up and was educated in Be’er Sheva. Sports and tennis accompanied him through the years, as did his love of connecting with and helping those around him. His brother Eilon recalled with a smile: “Barak was the eldest, eight years older than me, Noam five years older. I remember he and Noam argued all the time. He always won. It was not a debate you wanted to get into.”
‘Barak was the only one who saw me’
After years of preparation, Barak enlisted in the Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 unit. “He prepared himself for two years,” his mother said, recounting a story she heard during the week of mourning. “A young man came to us and said, ‘I was with Barak in basic training. Barak was the only one who saw me. He tried to help me in every way, in anything I needed. He was the only one who really saw me.’” In the unit’s training track, Barak succeeded both physically and socially. But the intense competition weighed on him, his father said, and he chose to leave and transfer to another combat unit, eventually joining the Givati Reconnaissance Unit. “He joined them midway through the course and loved the unit,” his father said. “He was with those guys for years. They stood side by side for 15 years.”
After completing his service, Barak continued to pursue demanding goals, earning a degree in economics at Tel Aviv University. At the same time, he completed a Shin Bet security course and worked as a security guard at Ben Gurion Airport, where he advanced and was highly regarded. “At night he worked, and from work he went straight to the university,” his father said. “He slept only a few hours and never asked for help. Sometimes I would transfer money to his bank account and he would get angry at me,” he recalled with a smile.
At work, he met his wife, Anna. They married and had a daughter, Noga. “The kindergarten teacher always told us she had never seen a father like him, he adored his daughter and she adored him,” his father said. “They had a special bond. She resembles him.” In 2022, Barak began working as an analyst in the business development department at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Colleagues described him as talented and professional, attentive to small details, with humor and camaraderie.
‘Everyone wanted Barak’s team’
On October 7, his family received a message in the family group chat: “I’m going to reserves.” The same team that had served together in regular service went back to fight together years later as reservists. “They took their cars and picked each other up,” his father said. “That very Saturday, they were sent to Kibbutz Re’im. They fought there on the first night of the war.” Barak and his team were known as explosives experts. “We later heard from many people that everyone wanted Barak’s team, they were the preferred team,” his mother, Yaffa, said.
In the operation in which he was killed, Barak’s team entered central Gaza to rig three buildings with explosives. “A terrorist was lying in wait not far from them,” his mother said. “Five soldiers were inside the building, him and four others, and around them were 16 soldiers securing the structure and two more in a tank.” The attacker fired an RPG at the tank and the building. Barak and many other soldiers were killed or wounded in the incident. “I received the notification first,” his mother said through tears. “And I knew from that moment that all our lives were going to change.” “No one prepares you for this,” his brother said. “Your world simply collapses in a single day.”
After his death, the family chose to continue his unique legacy. They established the Home in the Heart project, an open home for combat soldiers defined as lone soldiers. They also founded The Spirit of Barak, which offers surfing courses for combat soldiers who experienced trauma during their service. “You want to do what Barak would have wanted you to do for him, which is to do good for others,” his brother said. He hopes people will remember Barak’s goodness, his ability to see others and “his unconditional love. To look at people with love and embrace them, to bring everyone who needs it into the circle, to accept everyone so that all feel they belong.”
May his memory be a blessing.
Sergeant Major
Barak Haim Ben Valid OBM