Staff Sgt. Lior Vishinski, z”l

Staff Sergeant Lior Vishinski was born and raised in Tel Aviv, the son of Osnat and Shlomo, and the brother of Dana and Liron. He was a sweet, smiling, chubby baby. A curious and creative child whose name reflected the light and joy he radiated.

Lior studied at the School for Nature, Environment and Society, near the zoological and botanical gardens. In high school, he attended Ort Technikum in Givatayim, where he majored in computer science. From an early age, Lior loved animals. He was fascinated by dinosaurs, loved photography, and played tennis. As the son of actor parents, he grew up in the corridors of the theater and was part of the Cameri Theater family. He even appeared in several plays in small roles. Lior shared a special and deep bond with his sister Dana.

In 11th grade, Lior decided to make a change. He trained, lost weight, switched to contact lenses, and became incredibly handsome. Around that time, school interested him less. Lior lived as if there were no tomorrow. He celebrated his independence. He convinced his parents to buy him a motorcycle, traveled around the country, surrounded himself with friends, listened to music, held numerous jobs, and made the most of every moment in life.

In early December 2002, Lior enlisted in the IDF's Combat Engineering Corps. After completing basic training, advanced training, and operational duties, he successfully finished the Squad Leaders Course and was a candidate for officer training. Lior wanted to be “the best of the best.” He volunteered and was accepted to the elite Tunnel Unit, a small and unique team of 12 fighters operating at that time against the tunnel threat from Gaza, facing great personal risk. The fighters of the unit would descend 18 meters underground without knowing what awaited them. Major General Moti Almoz, then the Southern Command Engineering Officer, said over Lior’s grave: “We commanders carefully select every member of the Tunnel Unit… perseverance, creativity, functioning under harsh conditions, professional expertise in handling explosives, and the ability to adapt to unique conditions underground are just part of the skills required. You possessed all of these, along with wisdom, modesty, and supreme courage.”

Lior served in the Tunnel Unit for two months before he fell. His final mission was to locate an explosives tunnel near the Tarmit outpost on the Philadelphi Route. Before heading out, he managed to call his family and excitedly share that he had found the motorcycle he had dreamed of.

On May 12, 2004, Lior fell in operational activity when an RPG missile struck the armored personnel carrier in which he was riding on the Philadelphi Route. He was 20 years old. Three of his comrades fell with him: Master Sergeant Imad Gadir, Staff Sergeant Zaur-Zohar Smaylaiev, and Sergeant Elad Cohen, together with the commander of the Tunnel Unit, Captain Aviv Hakani. Lior was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. His father said, “In the prayer El Maleh Rachamim, we say ‘rest in peace upon your bed.’ Lior, you are too young to rest.”

May his memory be blessed.