Avia Hetzroni
Avia was born on Kibbutz Be’eri on 13th August 1954, the son of Margalit and Yair, two founding members of the kibbutz. Yair worked in the printing press and was the mythical operator of the linotype machine, while Margalit worked in the sewing room and the warehouse. Avia was born after Ayala and Nitza and was followed by Efrat. He was raised in the children’s house, in Gan Kalanit and afterwards in the Kitat Tzabar. He was a pleasant and sociable boy, happy and loved.
Before the army, he met Eva, who had come to Kibbutz Be’eri with her friend. It was love at first sight and continued to the end of their lives. Avia turned 18 at the start of twelfth grade, and was called up for the army. Alongside members of the Shibolim class, he was placed in the Mechanized and Armored Infantry Brigade. There he got the nickname “Abuya,” which remained with him afterwards. In the Yom Kippur War, he was a regular soldier in the ‘Television’ Stronghold, which was in the central sector, 10 kilometers from the Suez Canal. Many of his friends were killed in these defensive battles. Abuya didn’t forget, and two years ago, he and his friends from the company built a monument in their memory. Together they planted the “Avenue of Friendship” – a row of trees along the route leading to Coral and the Be’eri Badlands.
After the army, Avia and Eva travelled to England, and lived in a London suburb not far from Eva’s family, where Shira was born. After several years they returned to the kibbutz. Shira joined the Tzivoni class. Avia and Eva worked in the printing press, Eva as the English-speaking secretary, Avia in the licensing project, as station manager in Tel Aviv. Concurrently, he volunteered as a local ambulance driver.
From 1981, Avia devoted himself to volunteering at MADA, the Israeli Red Cross, at their station in Netivot. In addition to his role as a senior medic, he managed the station’s relations with different donors. He received widespread praise for his professional knowledge, resourcefulness, diligence, and his special ability to work with disabled persons and to give them a feeling of security. At the MADA station he made sure to nurture the youth volunteers and occasionally helped youth in distress financially. On the kibbutz he was part of the clinic team, and the team that managed Be’eri’s nursing home. Kibbutz members approached him with matters big and small; he gave lifesaving first-aid treatment, drove people to hospital, and once even acted as a midwife.
Friends knew that during times of trouble, they should call Abuya. It became a kibbutz joke that if the first face you wake up to is Abuya, it’s a sign that you’re alive, but barely. He knew the medical history of the extended family and knew to brief the emergency room about the patient he was bringing.
Avia loved the kibbutz life and felt a strong sense of belonging to his friends and the community; he knew the babies and the children and followed their progress. In the dining room he would pass between the tables, giving pats and hugs, and when he had time, he also joined the local ‘parliament.’
In 2010, his daughter Shira married and returned with her partner to Israel. There they had sweet and healthy twins: Liel and Yanai. But a tragic error in the hospital’s conduct left Shira brain damaged. From then on, Avia devoted all his energy to the effort to rehabilitate Shira. The entire Hetzroni family joined the effort: Avia’s sister Ayala took the twins home, Avia came every day, and in this way, they together created a family model. His other sisters, Nitza and Efrat, helped as much as they could, and each partner and cousin and their children helped, each in their own way.
Eight years ago, Nitza passed away following a difficult illness. Seven years ago, Eva also died. Avia doubled and tripled his efforts to care for the children. He had a special connection with them – something between a father and a grandfather, a friend, and a brother. He was brutally murdered on October 7, aged 69.
May his memory be a blessing.
