Yehuda Wachsman, father of murdered soldier Nachshon, dies aged 73
Father of IDF infantryman who was captured and killed by Hamas terrorists in 1994 during a failed rescue attempt is eulogized by Netanyahu as a man who ‘chose life’
Yehuda Wachsman, the father of an Israeli soldier who was abducted and later killed by terrorists in 1994 during a failed rescue attempt, died Thursday aged 73 following a long illness.
His wife Esther told Channel 13 news that her husband was “a devoted father, constantly studying, an educated man.”
“His condition has worsened over the past two years, and severely over the past two weeks. He was tormented and is now freed, but has left a huge hole,” she said.
Following the death of Nachshon, Yehuda and Esther Wachsman often lectured on coping with the tragedy, as well as raising another son, Raphael, with Down syndrome.
“True, I saw a very big disaster. My son was murdered. In addition, I saw my son living with Down syndrome, which was not easy either, but I have more children and Raphael also gives me great satisfaction and happiness,” Yehuda said last year, according to the Ynet news site. “I think life is a wheel. We are born, we live, we die. I am at the third stage, so I decided it was better to put up with death and not quarrel with it: Whenever you come — welcome, but please just not in agony. I am not afraid of death, but of the agonies before it.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement of condolence.
“I was saddened to hear about the passing of Yehuda Wachsman, the father of IDF soldier Nachson Wachsman, who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in 1994. Yehuda chose life. He educated and taught values, Torah and love of the people and the land,” Netanyahu said. “For myself, my wife Sara and all citizens of Israel, I send condolences to Esther and the children. May his memory be blessed.”
On October 9, 1994, Wachsman, 19, a soldier in the Golani infantry brigade, left a base in northern Israel and disappeared after trying to hitch a ride at the Bnei Atarot junction in central Israel.
Two days after his disappearance, the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped him released a video demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for his freedom. If Israel did not comply, they vowed to kill Wachsman the following Friday at 8 p.m.
Speaking to the camera, Wachsman said: “Hamas captured me, they want to release their prisoners. If not, they will kill me. I ask of you to do what you can to get me out of here alive.”
To his parents, he said: “I hope to come back to you.”
A team from the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit tried to rescue Wachsman from the Palestinian village north of Jerusalem where he was held, but his Hamas captors killed him as the soldiers closed in.
One of the soldiers on the rescue team, Nir Poraz, was also killed in the attempt. Poraz’s father had been an air force pilot and was killed in the Yom Kippur War when Poraz was an infant. Poraz received a commendation for bravery following the failed operation and was buried next to his father in the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery.
Yitzhak Rabin, who was prime minister at the time, took responsibility for the failed operation.
