Maj. Shilo Har-Even, 25: Golani commander with lofty political goals

Maj. Shilo Har-Even, 25, a company commander in the Golani Brigade from Almon, was killed battling Hamas terrorists at the Nahal Oz IDF base on October 7.

He was buried on October 13 on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. He is survived by his parents, Ingrid and Benny, his brothers Nevo and Eitam, and his girlfriend Tamar.

“That Saturday morning, immediately when they identified the invasion of the Nahal Oz base, [Shilo] charged at the terrorists,” his father, Benny, told the Israel Hayom newspaper. “He jumped into an armored personnel carrier with six of his guys and they started to travel along the border. Shilo stood outside the APC and waged a stubborn battle, he shot the terrorists and ran them over. He and his team killed dozens of terrorists. They traveled along the border, repelling and eliminating terrorists.”

Benny said Shilo was wounded in his hand during the gun battles, but didn’t stop, instead “he bandaged himself up, and when he heard the Nahal Oz outpost was being attacked he left the fence and headed over there.” The APC came under intense fire, and after being hit by an RPG was no longer usable, said Benny, so Shilo headed out on foot to fight and was killed in battle.

Speaking to Channel 13 news, his mother, Ingrid, described him as “a person who gave so much to this world which he loved so much.” During the shiva, she said, “Generations of soldiers he raised came to us, there wasn’t one who didn’t say, ‘Shilo helped me so much, he made me a better person.’ And in the moment of truth, they followed him, because they believed in him and relied on him.”

“He didn’t flee, he didn’t quit after he was wounded, he kept going, kept going until the end,” she added. “I wouldn’t exchange the 25 years I had with him with a boy who lived to be 90… We are crying over not just what was but also what will not be.”

Shilo’s girlfriend, Tamar Avrouskine, recounted to Maariv that they started dating more than a year before he was killed “and it was immediately clear to us that this was it. We moved in together very quickly.”

“Shilo’s a Zionist and ethical person, we had so many conversations about the army, about commanding — he met with so many people to sharpen his approach to commanding, to be a better commander, to give his soldiers a better service experience. He was an incredible commander. He was also very family-oriented, connected to his roots, country, and tradition.”

Avrouskine said she last saw him on Thursday afternoon, just before he died, when she went to visit him near Nahal Oz.

“We sat together for an hour in a grove near the outpost,” she recounted. “We parted and said we’d meet on Shabbat because usually, I would bring him food… I was always afraid that something would happen to Shilo. Because of his nature, I knew that if something happened he would be the first to charge ahead.”

Avrouskine said they were planning to get engaged last year and married this year — “we built our future together,” she said, noting that he had set a clear path for himself as well: “Shilo didn’t want an army career, he wanted to finish two more years in the army, be released, study law, enter politics. First, as the head of a pre-army academy, to enter the Education Ministry and eventually to be prime minister.”

“He sincerely believed that he could change the face of the country, to bring it to a better place,” she said. “He had a vision. He wanted things to be good here… This is our country, there’s no place else we can live. Shilo would want us to act so things will be better here.”

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