Staff Sgt. Orel Moshe, 21: Haredi soldier who ‘accepted everyone’
Killed by Hamas terrorists at the Yiftah IDF outpost on October 7
Staff Sgt. Orel Moshe, 21, a kashrut supervisor in the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade, from Rechasim, was killed during the Hamas invasion of the Yiftah IDF outpost near Zikim on October 7.
Orel was stationed on base that weekend, and when the attack began, he jumped to help evacuate and treat wounded soldiers. After bandaging up an injured comrade, Orel placed him into an evacuation vehicle, but at that moment, the terrorists opened fire on them and Orel was killed on the spot.
He was buried on October 11 in Kfar Hasidim. He is survived by his parents, Ilanit and Dayan, and his brothers, Eliad, Liav and Elroi.
Orel was born and raised in an ultra-Orthodox family in the Haredi town of Rechasim near Haifa, according to an IDF eulogy, attending yeshiva in Migdal Haemek and later a pre-army academy in the Golan Heights before enlisting in the IDF in March 2021.
He loved nature and enjoyed hiking, especially on trails through rivers and streams. He was described by friends and family as responsible, dedicated, with a good sense of humor.
Orel decided that he wanted to enlist in the IDF despite growing up in an ultra-Orthodox family, but wasn’t sure which path to take. Following advice from his father — who was also an IDF combat veteran — Orel spent his first two years of service as a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade.
After that, he underwent a course for kashrut supervisors and was stationed to work at the Yiftah outpost near Zikim, with the 7th Armored Brigade, for the last few months of his service.
He was two weeks away from completing his service when he was killed.
Orel’s friend from his service, Oded, wrote about him that he was a moral man whose family always came first to him.
“I fell in love with you from the first moment, as did everyone else. I remember that we used to joke about which of the guys we’d be willing to introduce our sisters to, and everyone unanimously said you,” said Oded.
Another friend, Yaniv, wrote that he would never forget Yaniv’s “modesty, virtues and charity.”
His mother, Ilanit said that Orel “accepted everyone.”
“He was loving and loved, always the joker in the group. You only needed a few minutes to fall in love with him.” She said his time in the army “was the best and most challenging possible. The guys there were incredible boys.”
Ilanit said Orel continued “to keep Shabbat and to put tefillin on every day. He was an incredible boy, to those around him, to his neighbors, his friends, and to everyone — he had such incredible manners and respect for his parents.”
His father, Dayan told Ynet that Orel had been unsure about whether to enlist to a unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers or a mixed unit, and he had encouraged him to do the latter.
“I later reaped the fruits,” he said. “Mothers would call or message me to say, ‘Orel’s dad — I want to tell you my son has become stronger in his faith, started keeping Shabbat, and done good things since he met Orel.’ These were things that warmed my heart.”
