Of all the units in the IDF, the Air Force is considered the elite of the elite. Very few soldiers make it through the grueling training course. (For security reasons, those soldiers are not allowed to be named nor their pictures published.) Last week, a graduate of AMIT Ginsburg Bar Ilan Gush Dan Junior and Senior High School for Boys, Ramat Gan, stood on the parade ground at the Hatzerim Air Force base at the end of the helicopter course and received his wings.
Rabbi Gedaliah Fensterheim, who was the graduate’s teacher in 12th grade, tells of a student with high grades who was an enterprising and independent boy. “As an educator, I tried to give him space and a place to be who he is. When he had to lead classroom initiatives he was the first to the task. When I gave him assignments he would do them 110%. Where he needed to be he was [always] there.”
Tomer Shofar, the principal, adds: “We merited that our alumnus finished his pilot’s course. He grew up in a special family with special parents and we were not surprised that he got into the course and completed it successfully. He was always talented and goal-oriented. Graduates from our school finish the pilot’s course once every two years, on average. So he continues a glorious chain of pilots from our school. The commander of the Hatzerim base, Brigadier General Aviad Dagan, is also a graduate of AMIT Ginsburg Bar Ilan Gush Dan. For us, this is another significant link in a long and glorious chain.”
