45 cadets, one legacy: a new project in memory of Lt. Col. Eli Ginsberg, who fell in battle in Be'eri
The Tavor Academy will open a new branch in Kibbutz Masada that will bear the name of Lt. Col. Eli Ginsberg. Ginsberg, a former commander of the Counter-Terrorism School, went into combat at the outbreak of the war and fell the next day. This is the second branch that Tavor has opened since October 7 in memory of a fallen soldier, following the branch in Kiryat Shmona named after Lt. Yuval Yaffe.
The Tavor preparatory academy will open a new branch tomorrow in Kibbutz Masada, near the Israel-Syria-Jordan border triangle, which will bear the name of Lt. Col. Eli Ginsberg, who fell in battle on October 8. 45 cadets will study at the new branch, and it will be the second branch the academy has opened since the outbreak of the war in memory of a fallen soldier.
Ginsberg, 42 at the time of his death, was a combat officer in Shayetet 13 and in his last role served as commander of the Counter-Terrorism School. He was discharged from the IDF shortly before the outbreak of the war, and on the morning of October 7, he went to fight in the Gaza envelope. The next day, he fell in battle in Be'eri.
Amit Dari, founder and CEO of the Tavor Academy, knew Ginsberg personally from their time in military service. According to him, the two spent two years together at the Command and Staff College, alongside Col. Asaf Hamami.
"Since the bitter news of Eli's fall at the beginning of the war, I have been waiting for this privilege to establish something that will carry his legacy and his sacred memory. I loved him, I appreciated him, and above all, I saw him as an outstanding friend, a role model as a combat commander," wrote Dari.
Dari described Ginsberg as "the strongest man I have ever known in my life, physically and mentally," and added: "The ultimate warrior, well-built, fearless, and yet sensitive and pleasant in his ways." According to him, the 45 cadets at the new branch will learn about Ginsberg and his legacy. "He is so worthy of this commemoration, so worthy of being remembered, of being studied," he wrote.
The branch in Masada is the second one Tavor has opened since the outbreak of the war. In 2024, the academy established a branch in Kiryat Shmona in memory of academy graduate Lt. Yuval Yaffe.
Yaffe, 21 at the time of his death, was a platoon commander in the 196th Battalion of the Armored Corps. He fell on October 11, 2023, in a battle in the Kissufim area. "This is already the second academy we are opening since the beginning of the war," wrote Dari. "How many heroes there are in the country."
