Command Sgt. Maj. Sivan Yenin, 49: Cop eagerly awaiting 1st grandchild

Command Sgt. Maj. Sivan Yenin, 49, a community police officer for the Bedouin community, at the Aroer station, from Arad, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival.

Sivan was one of the officers at the rave early that morning working to secure the event. With the start of the rocket fire, he messaged his loved ones that he was helping partygoers get to safety after the event was shut down.

Later that morning, Sivan texted that there was a terrorist invasion and people were wounded, writing at 7:48 a.m. that “it’s a colossal mess.” That was the last anyone heard from him. After a few days, his police cruiser was found riddled with bullets, but there was still no sign of Sivan.

His fate was unknown for 10 days following the attack, until his body was identified. He was buried in Arad on October 17.

He is survived by his three children, Peleg, Afik and Nahal, his parents, Baruch and Tzafra, his siblings Bar, Ofek and Gani, and his girlfriend, Racheli. His first grandchild, Ori Simcha, was born on the 30th day following his funeral.

Born in Kibbutz Gesher in the north, near Tiberias, Sivan grew up with his three siblings, and loved to work with his hands and build with Lego and was a big fan of Star Wars. At 16 he decided to leave school and work in agriculture in the kibbutz until he enlisted in the IDF, serving in the Armored Corps.

After his release, Sivan worked in a number of jobs, including as a lifeguard and at a dairy farm, until in 2003, at age 30, he enlisted in the Israel Police. He got married and had three children, settling in Arad in the south, before divorcing.

Despite the great distance from Arad to Kibbutz Gesher, his parents said Sivan visited regularly, often bringing the kids, and the family managed to maintain a strong bond, with Sivan also doting on his nieces and nephews. He traveled with his children around the world, including Thailand and the Sinai, sharing with them his love of scuba diving and always taking many photos of his travels.

Sivan’s loved ones said he was extremely excited for the birth of his first grandchild, and had been picking up extra overtime shifts in order to buy all sorts of gear and accessories for the new baby — including taking the job working at Supernova.

His girlfriend, Racheli, told a local radio station that “Sivan was a police officer in his soul. He essentially became a cop because he was exposed to injustice when he was a kid and he decided that he wouldn’t let things like that happen anymore. He was a family man, he would do everything for his kids, he was always looking for ways to take care of them. He was about to be a grandfather and he was looking forward to it so much and working to offer more financial support.”

His son, Afik, wrote on Instagram a year after he was killed that his father “was always like my best friend, I told you everything and I never held back anything from you. You always said that ‘there is nothing but fear itself,’ and now without you there are empty periods full of fear.”

“Dad, sometimes it feels like you just went on another trip abroad that you always wanted to the Maldives or something, and that soon you’ll be back with lots of experiences and photos of everything you did,” Afik added. “But this time you went on a different kind of trip, one you’re not coming back from.”

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