Lieutenant Colonel Roi Yochai Yosef Mordechai, who survived the terrorist attack and massacre at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in 2008, was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
Roi was just 16 years old when an Arab gunman murdered eight people at the prominent Jerusalem yeshiva. His best friend told Ynet that he was not injured in the attack but consciously carried the deadly attack with him in a way that affected the decisions he made in his life.
"Roi was in the yeshiva when the terrorist entered. Someone came and said there was a terrorist," he said. "Roi ran to the guard of the nearby building and told him there was a terrorist and to run there [to help] and the guard was a little apprehensive. He asked to take the weapon from the terrorist but the guard refused, so he went to hide somewhere. He was 16 years old but he had resourcefulness and courage. He made sure that people would hide."
"Three guys from our high school were murdered and this was undoubtedly a force that guided him. Always when he finished a course with his soldiers, he would point out that it was in memory of his friends who were murdered and he made sure to come every year to the house of one of the families in order to go to the grave," the friend added.
"If he couldn't make it, he would send a photo from the end of a course in their memory. The attack was a significant part of his activities. He managed to be saved then, but this time there was nothing he could do. He took a bullet in the head. At least he was killed without suffering, which is a small comfort," he concluded.
Roi's father, Eli, eulogized him at his funeral and commented on the 2008 massacre: "You called 'Dad there is an terrorist attack, don't worry', we turned on the news before they knew anything."
Roi leaves behind his wife Neta and his three-month-old baby daughter Ori. He is the son-in-law of Major General Yoav (Foli) Mordechai, who served as the head of COGAT, the head of the Civil Administration, and spokesman for the IDF.