A GOLDEN GIRL

My second husband had 17 grandchildren. One of his sons had six children, three of whom became pilots in the IDF. What is so special is the fact that the first one in the family to do so was their daughter, Tamar Ariel, who  made history – being the first Orthodox Jewish female pilot.  Coincidentally my own grandson, Yair (of whom I wrote about in the beginning blogs), joined the pilot course on the same day and they both made it. From the original number of potential pilots who start the course only  10-15% succeed to the end!

There was always something exceptional about Tamar. Before committing herself to the long and gruelling pilot course, she served two years in a National service programme.

National Service is an alternative voluntary programme for those that cannot or do not wish to serve in the IDF. The majority who receive an exemption from the obligatory army service are girls from the religious Zionist sector, and they receive it by declaring religious observance. Religious girls can obtain exemption from the army but serve the country instead in places which are in need of supplementary assistance, such as hospitals, Homes for children with special needs, etc.

Tamar graduated from the Israel Airforce flight school in December 2012. During her first solo flight she was forced to eject from her jet causing her to rocket skyward, breaking a vertebra in her back. She spent months in an elastic body cast - then went on to complete her training becoming a fighter navigator. After graduation, she flew the F16-D. During  Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, she carried out the most combat missions in her squadron.

Following, Operation Protective Edge,Tamar was in need of a break. Her squadron commander agreed to grant her a leave immediately, without telling her he had decided to award her a certificate of excellence from the IDF Chief of General Staff, upon her return.

Tamar, aged 25, was killed in a snow storm that hit the high mountain passes on a vacation to the Himalayas in 2014.

This month, a Kibbutz in Upper Galilee dedicated a synagogue in memory of Tamar Ariel. Sde Nehemia is a secular kibbutz in the Upper Galilee. The new synagogue, named "Moreshet Tamar," was dedicated in memory of Israel's first Orthodox Jewish female pilot.

The initiative to build a synagogue came from kibbutz resident Gideon Shelah, whose son Yishai, who served as Ariel's commander, had become religious. The synagogue itself was built with the aid of the "Ayelet Hashachar" organization, which works to build synagogues in kibbutzim around Israel.

"My son Yishai was Tamar's commander, and they spent long hours together in the pilot's cabin. I also knew Tamar, not well, but I would meet her in the synagogue," he told one of the interviewers.

Gideon Shelah sees the synagogue's dedication as a form of emotional closure.

Amongst the many eulogies at Tamar’s funeral,  her cousin Ronen Shoval added “After two years of national service, it was a surprise to our family when she said she did not contribute enough to the State, and decided to join the Army. But if Tamar wanted it, she would take it through to the end, and she went to the Pilots' Course. From an early age, she was always special: a quiet girl with golden hair who grew up to be a God-fearing woman who wanted to reach the highest heavens," he continued. "May her memory be a blessing."