Staff Sgt. Shoam Ben-Harush, 20: Nahal soldier planned to travel world

Staff Sgt. Shoam Moshe Ben-Harush, 20, a soldier in the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Hispin, died on October 26, 2023, of wounds sustained while battling the Hamas attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing on October 7.

He was stationed that morning at the IDF post next to the crossing into southern Gaza. He was shot in the jaw while battling against the Hamas gunmen who attacked the post and he was brought to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. For three weeks he fought for his life until he succumbed to his wounds.

His commanders, Maj. Ido Shani and Cpt. Tomer Shoham were also killed that day, and his comrade and close friend Staff Sgt. Yaron Shay was slain alongside him.

Upon his death, Shoam’s family decided to donate his organs, and his heart, lungs, liver and both of his kidneys were transplanted into five people, saving their lives.

Shoam was buried in Hispin on October 27. He is survived by his parents, Martine and Ilan, and his siblings Bar, Tai, Ori, Roni and Gavriel.

Shoam was the fifth of the six children in his family, born in Had Nes in the Golan Heights and raised there and in the religious town of Hispin, also in the Golan Heights.

He loved being outside in nature, diving into springs and sitting around a campfire, and also loved snowboarding and playing poker with friends.

After completing a pre-army academy, in December 2021 Shoam enlisted in the IDF, joining the Nahal Brigade and completing the training for Sayeret Nahal, the brigade’s elite reconnaissance unit.

Shoam loved his time in the army, his family said, and was devoted to his comrades, although he was also making plans to travel the world once he completed his army service, including a visit to South Africa to see his grandmother.

His father, Ilan, told a local radio station that his son “saved people in life and saved people in death.”

“He was a boy of life, a boy who loved the sea, sports, friends,” he said. “He had a huge heart, not just his smile but he had a light inside him that connected everyone in the room.”

Shoam, he said, was planning “a trip overseas, and he told me ‘when I return from my trip I’ll tell you what I want to do next.'”

Shoam’s mother, Martine, a native of South Africa, told the South African Jewish Report that “my boy was beautiful inside and out.”

During the shiva period, she said, “people, some total strangers, would say, ‘You don’t know me but…’ and then the wonderful stories would be told of how he had touched their lives, all before he turned 21.”

Martine added: “I still cannot imagine a world without him… with all the darkness spread by Hamas, the world needs Shoam’s light to spread goodness and heal the world. He loved, and was loved.”

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