Sgt. 1st Class Tom Rothstein, z”l

Sergeant First Class Tom Rothstein, the son of Sigal and Amichai, brother of Bar and Lia, and the partner of Natalie, was born in Bat Hefer in the Sharon region. During his childhood, his family moved to Australia for a professional mission. After four years, when Tom was in fourth grade, the family returned and settled in Tel Mond, where Tom spent most of his childhood. At first, Tom found it difficult to adjust to the Israeli mentality, but he quickly integrated and became Israeli at heart. He was a child who loved nature, walked barefoot, and enjoyed wandering in the orchards. Tom studied at the Rabin School in Tel Mond in the cyber program and graduated with the highest honors. He was a sensitive and shy child who grew into a tall and striking young man. A conversationalist and a people’s person, he was both serious and funny, responsible and playful. Everything Tom did, he did with excellence. He excelled in academics, music, sports, and personal relationships. He had hundreds of friends. When asked how he always managed to excel, he would smile and say, “Like a champ.”

After high school, Tom volunteered for a year of service with the “Oded” group of Bnei HaMoshavim in the Gilboa Regional Council. He worked as a counselor in the kibbutzim of Yizra’el and Tel Yosef, where he was a beloved and influential guide. His commune friends recall him as a caring friend who always looked out for everyone and did everything calmly, with humor and composure.

Tom enlisted in the IDF in November 2021, joining the elite Yahalom Unit of the Combat Engineering Corps. He served as a principled, respected, and beloved fighter in the EOD Unit.

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, and bases. The terrorists murdered around eight hundred civilians and abducted hundreds of Israelis to the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of security personnel fell in the battles. At the outbreak of the attack, Tom was at his mother’s home in Ramat Gan. He was attached to the Multidimensional Unit. Tom was called up and fought in the heroic battles in the kibbutzim of Be’eri and Urim. Following the surprise attack, Israel went to war.

For long months, Tom fought in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and again in Gaza. He returned to his unit, Yahalom, and signed on for an additional year of career service. Tom took part in many operations, demonstrating courage, determination, and devotion. In Gaza, he would read philosophy and prose to his friends before bed – works by Hermann Hesse, such as “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” or “The Catcher in the Rye.” After months of combat, Tom was looking forward to the end of his mandatory service. He had already bought plane tickets to the United States with his beloved Natalie. He planned to take the psychometric exam, travel in the East, and study physics or electrical engineering.

On June 6, 2025, Tom fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip. He was 23 years old. Tom was laid to rest in the Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery. His mother eulogized him: “1.90 meters of beauty and light, courage and love of life. One of those who not only walks the path, but also paves it.”

May his memory be blessed.