This month holds many holidays for Israel and the Jewish people. The biggest and most important being Pesach, our redemption from Egypt, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, commemorating the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. All these holidays are written about in great detail and taught to us as children and as adults. But one major holiday that gets little press in the USA is Yom HaZikaron, Israel Memorial Day. (The evening of April 20 this year.)
Why should we, as Americans commemorate Yom HaZikaron? We have our own Memorial Day and few of us have relatives that served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), let alone perished while in service.
Yom HaZikaron is observed the day before the Israeli Independence Day. In Israel it is a big deal, as almost everyone in the country served in the IDF and most also know or are related to someone who died in service of Israel. The observation is quite stark and moving. The day starts with a one-minute siren at 8 pm, with a two-minute siren at 11 am, the following day. Drivers stop their cars on the road, wherever they are, to show reverence. Public entertainment is closed, flags are at half-mast, and memorial services are held, with the main ceremony at Mount Herzl, the Israeli equivalent to Arlington Cemetery. The atmosphere is a deeply somber National Day of Mourning.
This last December, Yom HaZikaron was brought home to Tidewater, with the passing of one of our own. Just two days before his discharge from the IDF, Sargent Ari Goldberg z”l was tragically killed in an accident.
Ari was born while I was stationed in San Diego, California, with my wife Chava and two young children. He was the middle child between Peter, Leah, Zev, and Zipporah. Ari grew up in Virginia, our Navy family moving to Tidewater when he was 10 years old. He attended Toras Chaim Day School in Portsmouth, Blair Middle School for one year, and Maury High School, graduating class of 2020. While attending Maury, he also attended Tidewater Tech where he earned certification in carpentry. Always industrious, he received his welding certificate from Tidewater Community College. A true son of Tidewater.
In 2022, Sargent Ari Goldberg z”l went to Israel for a year at Mechinat Ruach HaNegev. He arrived in Israel with a desire to connect with the Jewish people’s homeland and then fell deeply in love with all that Israel stood for. During that year, he chose to make Aliyah and move to Dimona – a city that embraced him as their very own. Following October 7, Sargent Ari Goldberg z”l saw his duty and enlisted in the IDF as a combat soldier in the Israeli Combat Engineering Corps, as missing out on the action in defense of the Jewish people and homeland was not an option for him. He served multiple tours in Lebanon and Gaza as his unit’s designated marksman. In fact, he was responsible for blowing up many of the tunnels, buildings, and private homes of terrorists from which Hamas and Hezbolah conducted their terror operations.
The best description of Ari comes from his adopted Israeli family, the Fischs: “A creative and original soul who was always learning, always searching, and always pushing his own limits. He loved bringing people together, hosting friends, and preparing food and drinks with his own hands. His door was always open and his smile was always wide. Ari loved people deeply. He was warm, generous, and full of life, always welcoming others and ready to help anyone who needed it. He believed with all his heart in friendship, community, and caring for those around him, and he lived his life in a way that made everyone who met him feel at home.” This was echoed by his family, friends, and fellow soldiers.
Ari was also an inspiration to his family, with his younger brother Zev enlisting in the IDF and his younger sister Zipporah joining the US Navy. His older brother Peter also served a tour in the US Air Force.
Ari passed away on December 30, 2025, during Asara B’Tevet, Fast of 10th Tevet, commemorating the siege of Jerusalem. He was laid to rest in Soldiers Cemetery in Dimona, the city he loved. The impact of his loss was felt throughout all of Israel. We received calls from President Isaac Herzog and Ambassador Mike Huckabee. Members of the Israeli Cabinet and Knesset came to Dimona to pay a shivah call. The Chief Rabbi and Mayor of Dimona were keynote speakers at Sargent Ari Goldberg z”l’s funeral – all calling Ari a hero of Israel.
Sargent Ari Goldberg z”l, a boy from Tidewater, truly cast a giant shadow.
In Ari’s memory, his family, his adopted Israeli family and friends, and fellow soldiers are building a home in Dimona for Lone Soldiers (American and foreign soldiers fighting for Israel). It will be a place where they can rest, feel they belong, host friends, and experience real moments of home, family, and community, just like Ari did for others. Ari told his brother that he dreamed of buying a bigger house with more rooms so he could host more people. We are committed to making his dream come true. To create a place where the warmth and belonging that Ari shared with everyone around him will be felt.
The home will be called “Lev Ari,” the “Heart of Ari,” or “Heart of a lion” which Ari also had, in memory of the brave soldier Sargent Ari Malachi Goldberg, z”l.
One Home. One Heart. One Family.
