Adir Mesika, z”l

Sergeant First Class (Res.) Addir (Dori) Mesika, the eldest son of Shiri and Alon, brother to Liran, Or, and Libi, and partner of Yuli[nM1] , was born in the United States. In his childhood, his family returned to Israel and settled in Even Yehuda. Addir attended Weizmann Elementary School in Beit Yehoshua and “WIZO Hadassim” High School. He was a boy of giving and love, funny and warm-hearted, always surrounded by friends. Addir played basketball and was part of the sports club of Even Yehuda and Hof HaSharon. At age thirteen, he began surfing and fell in love with it. He took every opportunity to be at the sea – surfing, swimming, or hanging out – and even worked as a surfing instructor. As a symbol of his love for the sea, he tattooed two beach chairs on his body, positioned by the shoreline, with a beer bottle placed on the sand beside them.

Addir’s dream was to serve in the elite Yahalom Unit. He enlisted in November 2018 and served four years in the unit, in the EOD. He was a beloved fighter and a respected, level-headed commander. Addir’s team was his second family. After his discharge, he even traveled with his teammates to the carnival in Brazil.

Addir loved life and loved people. He had a combination of creativity and calm. After returning to Israel from his big post-military trip, he worked as a bartender and studied for the psychometric exam. He founded a jewelry brand called FLOW. The jewelry, which expressed his love for the sea, bore the names of his loved ones: a bracelet called “Shusha,” his mother’s nickname; a necklace called “Libi,” after his sister; and even a ring called “Melo,” after his beloved dog. Addir was working on designing a website for his jewelry and building an online store, to which he managed to upload one product.

On October 7, 2023, Simchat Torah 5784, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack on Israel. Under the cover of barrages of thousands of rockets, thousands of armed terrorists crossed the border into Israel, infiltrating cities and taking control of communities, outposts, bases, and open-air parties. The terrorists murdered about 800 civilians and abducted hundreds of Israelis to the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of security personnel fell in the battles. Following the attack, Israel entered a state of war. During the attack, Addir was with his partner, Yuli and other friends at the Supernova trance festival near Kibbutz Re’im. When the rocket barrages began, Addir and his friends drove to find shelter. They found a protected shelter (migunit) and went inside, but then a terrorist squad arrived at the site. Two of Addir’s friends, Sela Ma’agan and Matan Eckstein, left the shelter to draw the terrorists’ fire toward themselves, while Addir and Ili Nachman charged at the terrorists with their bare hands.

Addir was murdered. He was 23 years old. His friends Ili and Matan were also murdered. Sela was critically wounded. Through their heroism, the four saved the lives of the civilians in the shelter. Addir was laid to rest in the cemetery in Even Yehuda. In a notebook he had written, he wished for himself: “To be true to myself, to know how to enjoy, not to fear being alone, to open my heart and to smile as much as possible.”

May his memory be blessed.