Aharon Arthur Markovitzi

From Jerusalem. Born in 1977 in Bucharest, Romania, the eldest son of Mina and Ze’ev Markovitch.

At the age of two he immigrated to Israel with his parents out of Zionist conviction.

In 2000 Arthur met Revital, and they married in 2002.

Arthur was a rare kind of person – a devoted family man, a loving and beloved husband, and a true friend with a wide and generous heart. Humor and Zionism were central parts of who he was. Family harmony stood above all for him, and a spirit of giving and helping others always guided him. Acceptance of those who are different was one of his core values, and he made sure his children understood how important it is to truly see the other.

Arthur and Revital had four children. He was an active and deeply involved father who always wanted the very best for them.

Arthur served as a procurement committees coordinator in the Purchasing and Sales Department. He was highly respected and loved by his colleagues and commanders. His commanders said that with Arthur it was “send and forget” – every task given to him was completed in the best possible way, with professionalism and a smile.

On October 6, 2023, the eve of Simchat Torah, Arthur went to work securing and guarding participants at the Nova festival. At 02:00 at night he still spoke with Revital and told her, among other things, that the amount of love at the celebration was inspiring.
At 06:29 on the morning of October 7 he called his family to make sure they were protected in the safe room and told them how much he loved them. He then went out on what became his final mission – to bring all the “children” – the festival participants, as he called them – home safely. To every family member who begged him to come back home, he answered the same: “I’m evacuating the children and will come home soon.”

Arthur set up a roadblock on Highway 232 with other officers and stood on the front line under fire against the terrorists. He fought and tried to help many people, and succeeded. Even after being shot in the leg, he continued helping others and kept fighting. He managed to buy precious time and eliminate several attackers, and through his courage many lives were saved. When the ammunition in both of his magazines was exhausted, RPG missiles were fired at them.

Arthur the hero was first declared missing, and for several difficult days his family did not know what had happened to him. Only on Thursday night, about six days after the beginning of the brutal attack, officers came to the family home and informed them of the worst – Arthur was identified through a DNA sample provided by his sister.

Arthur fell at the age of 46 in the battle at Re’im during the Hamas surprise attack, after acting with courage and self sacrifice on the front line.

May his memory be a blessing.