A chance encounter

The Jewish Federation of Howard County, Maryland sponsored a special event. It was April 21, 2026, and here in Columbia, Maryland, it was יום הזכרון the eve of Yom HaZikaron.

We met at Beth Shalom, a small synagogue in Columbia, Maryland. Stav, the Community Israel Director, introduced three Israelis, one of whom was Doctor Ori Yosef Sylvester. The three Israeli soldiers were part of a program sponsored by the Jewish Agency called Emissaries in Uniform.

Doctor Ori described his role as the doctor of the Givati Brigade, a front-line combat unit. He had been deployed to Gaza. Captain Dr. Ori’s wife also served as a doctor in a different combat unit. He told the small group gathered there in the synagogue about his medical studies, about his life in Israel, both before and after October 7, 2023.

As a former Golani Brigade combat warrior myself, I remarked that the married couple’s conversations must have been quite interesting, as to which of their combat units was better. We all laughed, the conversations became more relaxed and intimate. The burden of caring for his wounded comrades. The sharing of worries and hopes with his brothers-in-arms. Themes and memories so similar to me, even from a distance of fifty two years.

The news that he was killed by a first-person view (FPV) attack drone came as a lightning bolt shock. He was just here, a few weeks ago. He had just returned to Israel, to his life, to his family, to his brothers.

May his memory be an inspiration for generations to come, יהי זיכרו ברוך, may his memory be a blessing to his family and to his brothers-in-arms.