7 graduates of the military boarding school in Haifa fell by 'iron swords' • Hapoel held a moving ceremony in their memory

The Hapoel Haifa football club held a ceremony this week at the Sami Ofer Stadium, in memory of the seven graduates of the military boarding school for command next to the Reali School in Haifa, who fell in the "Iron Swords" war.

The boarding school students were invited by the team's owner, Yoav Katz, and the players, to watch the game held at the Sami Ofer Stadium between Hapoel Haifa and Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and before the game started, an honorable ceremony was held in memory of the fallen - Major Ariel Ben Moshe, Major Roi Chapel, Major Roi Maldesi, Major Jamal Abbas, Major Nati Alfasi, Lieutenant Dekal Suisa and Sergeant Ram Batito, the heroes of Israel are remembered with blessing, the graduates of the military boarding school.

The Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Reali School, Shai Finkelstein said after the ceremony:
"We approached the Hapoel Haifa group with a request to host the trainees of the military boarding school and the command, and I must salute the owner of the group, Yoav Katz, for agreeing. The military boarding school is under the Ministry of Defense and under the management of the Reali school. There are trainees there who at the same time study in Reali in the 12th and 12th grades. Their vocation is to reach command positions in the army.

Among the graduates of the boarding school you can see people who reached the highest ranks in the IDF. In this war, as well as in previous wars, the military boarding school paid a very heavy price in casualties.

Finkelstein: "In the 'Iron Swords' war, 7 of the boarding school graduates fell, 5 of them with the rank of major, a soldier with the rank of captain and another soldier with the rank of sergeant, who was killed on the first day of the war. They are all very high-quality guys who come from all over the country. These are the highest levels of Zionists I know.

The campers in her boarding school experienced the war in a difficult way, one of them, in the 10th grade, his brother among the fallen. There are those who live in the Gaza Envelope and were in Mmadim on the first day of the war, and later found themselves among funerals and memorials, they are wrapped in grief and the fallen. I contacted the Hapoel Haifa football club and asked them to hold a ceremony to commemorate the fallen and give the boarding school students the feeling that they are special."

"The Hapoel Haifa performed a very respectful ceremony." Finkelstein continues, "It was noted that the club hosts the trainees of the military boarding school, and a few words were said about the boarding school itself. The commander of the boarding school, Brigadier General Eran Makov, along with three of the boarding school's trainees went on the grass.

Photos of the fallen, with their names and ranks were projected on the screens and the entire audience stood up and applauded. The boarding school students unfurled the boarding school flag. There was a stage where the players stood on the middle circle and the images of the fallen were projected inside it. The campers were very excited, and so were we.

I received many, many messages after the ceremony about how beautiful and moving it was. It is about 140 campers and staff, which the club hosted at its own expense. The crowd embraced them, both Hapoel Haifa's and Hapoel Beer Sheva's. The trainees later told me that they were very excited and that they felt that they were privileged to be at such an event, with such a deep meaning for them.

The game ended with the victory of Hapoel Haifa over Hapoel Beer Sheva 1:0, which raised Hapoel Haifa to third place in the Premier League table, at the expense of Hapoel Beer Sheva."