The annual race in memory of fallen IDF soldier Yochanan Hilberg took place Sunday in the Ashkelon area. Arutz Sheva TV attended the event and spoke with Bryna, Yochanan's bereaved mother.
Yochanan was a resident of Gush Katif, the bloc of Jewish communities in the Gaza strip. He was killed in action during a 1997 secret operation in south Lebanon as part of his service in the Shayetet, the IDF's top naval commando unit.
Hilberg was buried in the Gush Katif cemetery and ever since his death his family and friends have been holding annual races in his memory. In 2005, as part of the uprooting of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif by the Sharon government, the Hilberg family was relocated to the expellee community of Nitzan. Their son's grave was relocated with them. All the graves in Gush Katif were dug up and relocated, some to the Mount of Olives and others near their families new locations.
This year's race was attended by youths who are soldiers in the IDF or are about to be drafted in the near future; many of them are or will be serving in special units. The runners were joined by the commander of IDF Southern Command, Major General Yoav Galant, and Rabbi Rafi Peretz, Head of the Atzmona Pre-military Religious Academy, which was once located in Gush Katif.
Peretz has recently been chosen to replace Brigadier General Rabbi Avichai Ronsky as Chief Rabbi of the IDF.