Moshe Zar, a longtime activist for Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, and one of the founders of special forces Unit 101 and the Paratroopers Brigade, who passed away on Friday at the age of 88, is being laid to rest this evening (Sunday).
The funeral is being held at his estate where he lived in Mitzpe Tzviim near Ramat Gilad and where he will be buried. The funeral is attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Rabbi of Har Bracha, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi of Tzfat, Ze'ev Hever, Samaria governor Yossi Dagan, and senior figures from the Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria.
Dagan eulogized, "Moshe Zar was a living legend, a Jew with proportions of a biblical figure. He was a revolutionary, a man of truth, and a source of inspiration. He was one of the first religious soldiers, a founder of the Paratroopers and special forces, a pioneer and a pathfinder in the redemption of lands. He was the Yehoshua Hankin of our generation and much more. He was a fearless pioneer, fighting for the redemption of the Land of Israel, redeeming bit by bit, even the holy land here. He fought and won. As a son of Torah, he fought in all of Israel's wars, in uniform and not in uniform."
He added, "He lived with 114% disability, losing an eye in Sinai, and scarred from two assassination attempts due to his work as the number one redeemer of land in our generation. But 114% disability never limited his immense willpower. When your holy son Gilad was murdered, you said you would establish six settlements in his memory. And thus this place arose next to your home - Ramat Gilad, and thus Havat Gilad was established, and so many more farms and towns arose far beyond those six. You took every grain of land in the Land of Israel to heart as if it were part of your body. It pained you. When you spoke of lands slated to become Area B in the Oslo Accords, there were tears in your eyes. You were a great Jew, a great fighter, and with a huge heart."
"We are all your students. We all commit to doing everything to succeed in the path you outlined, not to settle for the existing, to push forward. We continue bit by bit, building another town and another, with determination, persistence, and a smile."
Dagan concluded, "Moshe, you left an army here - your descendants and spiritual students. An army that will continue with all its might the battle of your life. Above your open grave, we swear to continue. We swear to advance the path you outlined to build even more, to redeem more lands in Judea and Samaria and throughout the Land of Israel, to bring you satisfaction in the building of the land, in development, in bringing millions of Jews here, without borders, with endless love, as we learned from you."
After the Yom Kippur War, Zar began purchasing land in the area and became a well-known land dealer among local Jewish and Arab residents.
For legal purposes, he established a Jordanian company for purchasing land. Between the years 1979-1982, he purchased thousands of square meters of land in thirty Arab villages.
In 1983, he survived an assassination attempt when an Arab landowner he traded with attacked him with an axe to his face and neck, shot him, and wounded him badly. Zar was hospitalized for a long period but eventually recovered.
Zar was the driver of the team that in 1980 placed the explosive device that led to the loss of Bassem al-Shakaa's legs, the Mayor of Nablus, as part of Jewish Underground activities. He was convicted and served less than a year in prison.