Command Sgt. Maj. David Ben Dayan, 58: Loved to strum guitar for friends

Command Sgt. Maj. David Ben Dayan, 58, a patrolman with the Sderot station, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas attack on the station.

David was finishing up a night shift at the Sderot police station that morning when the Hamas attack began. A number of the Hamas gunmen who invaded the city targeted the police station, and a fierce battle raged within and outside the building.

Ultimately, Israeli forces razed the building to kill those remaining inside and end the standoff.

David was slain in the battle for the station along with seven of his comrades: Command Sgt. Maj. Shmuel Golima, Command Sgt. Maj. Meir Abergel, Command Sgt. Maj. Adir Shlomo, Command Sgt. Maj. Denis Belenky, Command Sgt. Maj. Yaron Dayan, Master Sgt. Eliyahu Michael Harush and First Sgt. Mor Shakuri.

He was buried in Sderot on October 9. He is survived by his wife, Shoshana, their three sons, Osher, Lidan and Daniel, his mother, Simi and his four siblings, Amir, Miriam, Shimon and Avraham.

Born in Morocco, David moved to Israel with his family in 1968, at age 3, according to a state eulogy. The family settled in Sderot, where he grew up and attended local schools.

After finishing high school he enlisted in the IDF, and following his service he met his wife, Shoshana, and they wed and settled in Sderot, where they raised their family.

In 1993, at age 28, David joined the Israel Police. He served for three decades as a traffic officer in Sderot, aimed at keeping the streets safer for pedestrians and drivers.

When he wasn’t on the job, his loved ones described him as a loving husband and dedicated father. His big love was music, and he would listen to all genres as well as play the guitar and sing for his family. His favorite song was the Eagles classic, “Hotel California.”

His friend, musician Itzhak Abergeal, wrote on Facebook how much he missed “my brother, friend and rare kind of guy with a huge heart.”

Itzhak said David, “loved music, it was inside you always.”

Sharing a clip of himself playing “Hotel California” with David’s brother, Avi, he noted that “it was a song that you loved so much, and I’d surprise you every time with different versions with your talented and dear brother Avi. I dedicate the song to you, watch over your loved ones as you did until your last moment.”

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