As every year, MDA will be commemorating Yom Hazikaron – Memorial Day for soldiers who fell in Israel's wars, and the victims of terror. MDA representatives will participate in ceremonies and will place wreaths on the graves of the 139 fallen sons and daughters of Magen David Adom in cemeteries throughout the country. In the main ceremony at the Magen David Adom Center, the names of the fallen from among the organization's family will be read.
One of the fallen from the Magen David Adom family is Lieutenant Avi (Avraham Abba) Fisher, an MDA volunteer, who fell in the village of Al-Farsh in southern Lebanon in 1993 when he was only 22 years old. Avi was born on April 21, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 3 years old, the Avi immigrated to Israel with his parents Bella and Noory and his sister Dahlia and the family built their house in Kiron, three years later his younger sister Zippi was born. Avi studied at the state-religious elementary school "Shilo", middle school in "Mechinat Bnei Akiva" in Givat Shmuel, and at the "Haroeh" high school in Ramat Gan.
He started volunteering at Magen David Adom at the age of 15, as a youth volunteer. During his years of volunteering, he served as a member of the volunteer committee, went through a first aid instructor course and raised a new generation of volunteers in the organization. Avi spent many hours at the MDA station. In 1988 he received the "Volunteer Badge" from Kiryat Ono local council for his excellence in volunteering for the community and his great contribution to saving lives. In addition to this, Avi was a member of the "Bnei Akiva" youth movement – first as a child, and then in his youth as a counsellor. He took a diving course, was in the middle of a paragliding course and traveled a lot around the country.
In July 1990, Avi enlisted for mandatory service in the IDF and at his request, was assigned to the Engineering Corps. At the end of his training, he was sent to continue his combat service on a commander's course. Avi went to an officer's course, at the end of which he volunteered for a bomb disposal unit. During his service, Avi was injured in the wrist and his fingers were damaged. He revealed his strong will - he did not reveal his pain, he insisted on doing all the tasks on his own, he trained his injured hand stubbornly, despite the pain - and after a month he returned to active duty in the army. After special training, he qualified as a team commander and after some time was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
On Tuesday August 19, 1993, after seven soldiers from the Golani Brigade were killed by an IED, Avi , as a team commander, went to search for additional IEDs, during the activity Avi was mortally wounded in the area of the village of Al Farsh in southern Lebanon and was rushed by helicopter to the Rambam Hospital, but died of his wounds after a few hours. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Segula, Petah Tikva. He was twenty-two years old.
His friends and family published a book in his memory. The members of the community at the Young Israel Synagogue in Kiron, where he used to pray, contributed to the writing of a Torah scroll in his memory. After his fall, his good friends from the MDA station in Kiron initiated a blood drive in his memory that took place for many years.
Chaim Rafalowski, MDA's Disaster Management Director, who was a youth volunteer at the MDA station in Kiron along with Avi: "I met Avi in the 90s when he was a trainee on a first aid course and I was a member of the volunteer committee at the station. The thing I remember most about him is the 'passion in his eyes' that he had to help others and the desire to contribute. He came to volunteer at MDA almost every day and made the station his second home. After volunteering, Avi was also certified as an instructor who trained many new volunteers. He was adored by his students who loved him very much and appreciated him. He made sure to accompany them even after the end of the course and during the training process and made sure to take an interest in the calls they handled and accompanied them through the difficult events. He was for us at the station an example of nobility and mutual respect for others, we learned a lot from him and he treated every patient, especially the elderly, as if they were members of his family. May his memory be blessed."
MDA Senior EMT David Neumeier, who was an ambulance driver at the MDA station in Kiron in the 1990s and is now a volunteer in MDA Blood Services: "I remember Avi as a dominant and much-loved volunteer at the station. He could always be counted on and when he was with me on ambulance calls I knew I could be relaxed. In addition to his activity in the ambulances, Avi helped in the logistical and administrative field at the station, he contributed and helped everyone who needed it and everything that was needed. May his memory be blessed."
MDA Director General, Eli Bin: "Magen David Adom operates routinely and in emergencies thanks to its special human element. Unfortunately, over the years we have lost many family members - volunteers and employees who fell in heroic battles. Among the dead, Lieutenant Avi (Avraham-Abba) Fisher, a volunteer of great stature, who fell in an operational activity in Lebanon at the age of only 22. Avi showed great responsibility, professionalism and dedication to his job and undoubtedly saved many lives, both in the MDA and in his military service. MDA employees and volunteers remember our fallen sons and daughters and embrace the organization's families throughout the year and especially on this difficult day, along with all the bereaved families in the State of Israel. May we never know any more sorrow."