What Amit taught us: How the Bonzel family keeps the legacy of a fallen soldier alive

Noa and Itzik Bonzel share the legacy of their son Amit, a 22-year-old Paratroopers Brigade soldier who fell in Gaza on December 6, 2023. Through stories of his sensitivity, perseverance, and refusal to give up on others, the family keeps his memory alive in Shoham and beyond. Amit's acts of kindness, from mediating between siblings as a child to encouraging a struggling fellow soldier during training, define his enduring impact.

Noa and Itzik Bonzel of Shoham keep alive the legacy of their son Amit, a 22-year-old Paratroopers Brigade soldier who fell in Gaza on December 6, 2023. Noa describes Amit as a sensitive middle child who mediated between his siblings and, at age six, secretly called her best friend to visit when he sensed she was sad. Amit valued IDF service above all else, refused to attend classes taught by a teacher who had not served, and aimed for the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit despite being 1.68 m tall. Turned down twice, he wrote a letter requesting a final chance; he was not accepted but joined the Paratroopers' elite reconnaissance unit instead. During training, when a fellow soldier could not scale a wall, Amit stayed behind, played music, and encouraged him until he succeeded. At the end-of-training ceremony, his commander appointed him staff sergeant over younger soldiers. After the ceremony, Amit jumped out of the family car to help a visitor in a wheelchair. A street in Shoham is named after him, and a synagogue in Kiryat Gat was established in his memory. Noa says she now follows Amit's path, looking for people who need help.