Arik Kraunik

Arik. Ariko. Riko. Johnson. Born on August the 2nd, 1969, and died at the age of 54. He was the youngest son of Yochanan and Regina and brother of Racheli and Meir. Father of Chen, Tamar, Hagar, and Noa. Husband of Sigal. Jewish. Israeli. He was born in Kibbutz Be’eri. A person.

Arik - a colorful and lively man. He brought energy and left a mark wherever he went. His loud voice was an expression of his heart and his endless generosity, and an attempt to reach as many people as possible, to unite as many people as possible. Arik’s smile, his main characteristic, was also like a loud voice covering long distances; “Everything can be done with a smile”, he would say, “everything can be done with love”.

Arik. He wouldn’t sleep at his parents’ because communal sleeping was a social experience he loved. Indeed, what at the beginning was insistence on shared accommodation, turned into sharing as a core value during adulthood. He was an outstanding athlete who could play in any ball game. From a very young age, basketball was his favorite sport, and he was considered one of the best players in Be’eri. He could score three-pointers in basketball, in any weather condition. With or without shoes. On parquet or on tiles. He fully and deeply knew how to win and how to lose in every game – from basketball to chess.

Racheli. His closest family connection was with you. You were born 11 months apart. You behaved like twins. He was your complement. You didn’t need words to understand each other’s needs. Your life paths ran parallel: you focused on education while Arik worked with youth; while you were Rosh Tzachi (head of local emergency squad), he was Lieutenant Colonel. You even took a basketball coaching assistant course together. You even shared chickenpox. Inseparable.

They were a close-knit family, sharing endless childhood experiences together with Meir, his mother’s son from her previous marriage. Arik knew how to embrace him, just as his father Yochanan did, and thus, from one generation to the next, from father to son and daughter, Racheli and Arik grew up with giving as a core value.

Arik. Already at the age of 16, started working in the Southern Command Preparatory Course (in agriculture and in the orchards), and by the age of 18, he was already managing the orchards. He opted for combat service, foregoing a year of civilian service, despite being an excellent athlete: he chose to enlist in the paratroopers. After the army and the “Great Post-Army Trip”, Arik returned to the kibbutz and found his calling in working with youth. He transformed the youth sector in the kibbutz. Arik was like a magnet to youth. They adored him. He truly understood them and would spend late-night hours chatting with them.

Arik pushed boys and girls to utilize all their abilities. During the kibbutz’s rope bridge ceremonies, he would climb up with them, train with them, and always say: “Those who don’t succeed are those who don’t want to”. At one of the ceremonies, one of the girls broke a leg: he lifted her onto the rope bridge and helped her participate in the ceremony.

Afterwards, Arik became the cultural coordinator of the kibbutz. He always succeeded in captivating everyone and expanding their horizons in his wake.

Sigal, in 2000, you entered an online chat where you met your husband and the father of your children. Just like that. You joined a shared chat room and began messaging each other: Arik asked you where you saw yourself in ten years, and when you answered, “married with six kids”, he immediately asked you to call him. At first, you didn’t agree to give him your phone number, but you arranged a meeting at Ramat Gan National Park. Two hours before the date, you called him and said you weren’t going, and he said “Are you serious? I’m already here!”. It was your mother who convinced you to go.

Arik told you about the youth and about what he was doing, and that convinced you. You told him you came from a religious home and his kibbutz was secular, and you didn’t know whether it could work, but a month later it was you who proposed to him, or as Arik used to say, “you didn’t ask me, you informed me”.

Arik. Attentive partner. A relationship built on togetherness but also on individuality. Always supported his wife. He would never call Sigal by nicknames like “baby”, but he would send her messages like “My dear and beloved wife, thank you for being you and for what you do for the family”. Who needs nicknames with this kind of message?

In 2001, their first son, Chen, was born. Arik, who was very close to his father, had always wished to name his son after his father, and so it was. “Chen”, named after Yohanan. Chen and Arik, Arik and Chen. Basketball games until dusk. Hours of driving, hours of training and games. Analyzing moves: both in the basketball court and in life situations.

A year later, in 2002, Tamar was born. When she was born, Arik told Sigal he could now relax because he had his girls taking care of him. She was jumping around and was a shining star to her father’s proud eyes, and just a few weeks ago, she finished officer training, and everyone stood up and applauded. Arik dreamed of this moment, to call her "the commander" and salute the new officer of the Border Police.

In 2005, Hagar was born. The wise girl of the house, that’s how he called her. His partner for Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s games and for watching basketball games together. When she went together to Chen’s games, she would analyze each move. She would call Arik when she watched the games separately to talk about the moves. Arik and Hagar, father and daughter; she learnt how to be a coach from the best.

Noa, the little sister, was born in 2009. A great volleyball player to a proud father. In the past two years, he spent a lot of time with her, often driving her to school trips. Everyone remembers her dad: the funny one who played around with the kids.

Arik. Father to four. Father and coach all in one. Always achieving accomplishments with a smile.

Arik. A joyful man who loved music nights. He loved the old songs of Israel, like Arik Einstein’s. He knew all the lyrics by heart. Over time, thanks to Sigal, he also came to appreciate The Revivo Project. On his 50th birthday, he organized a large and enjoyable public singing event, true to his habit of not taking himself too seriously.

In March 2019, Arik took on the role of Rosh Tzachi. Racheli, who was then the head of Tzachi, knew that Arik was the most suitable person for the position. He elevated the level of security for the community and ensured that elite units would come to train in Be’eri. He was Rosh Tzachi in the elite school in Be’eri. In April 2022, Arik was recognized for his dedication by the commander of the Gaza Brigade. Members of Be’eri, as well as the temporary residents and soldiers who arrived at the kibbutz, knew that Arik took care of them consistently. Temporary residents recall how Arik welcomed them into the community, opened his home to them, and hosted meals together with Sigal, always with a smile. He treated soldiers as if they were his own children. Free access to the pool, plenty of food,­ they knew they could reach out, and he would take care of everything they needed.

Arik, on Shabbat morning, you took your gun and the M16, and then you left. Before that, you looked at Sigal and said goodbye to her. It wasn’t like you to linger for a moment before the door.

Arik. Ariko. Riko. Johnson.

Dead at 54. Youngest son of Yochanan and Regina. Brother of Racheli and Meir. Father of Chen, Tamar, Hagar, and Noa. Husband of Sigal. Jewish. Israeli. Born in Kibbutz Be’eri and will remain in Kibbutz Be’eri forever. In Kibbutz Be’eri. The first to take the lead, the first to fall. A person. A family of five souls, a basketball team left without its coach.

He was a man, and he is no more.

May his memory be blessed.