The life story of Yochai Kalangel (Goha)

Son of Malka and Yosef Baruch. Yochai was born on Friday, August 7, 1989, in Jerusalem. A second child to his parents, brother of Elior, twins Tamir and Amir, Shir Miriam and Shai Hillel.

Yochai grew up at the age of four in Elazar in Gush Etzion. A good and beloved child, whose curiosity characterized him from childhood – Yochai did not take anything for granted, his parents said, he was very technical and every toy he received was a factor to understand how it works. It turned out that he was blessed with gold, and everything he dismantled he also knew how to fix.

Already as a teenager, Yochai’s connection to the army and the military stood out. On March 17, 2008, he enlisted in the IDF and began serving in the Givati ​​Brigade as a soldier.

Yochai was promoted with honors to the position of company commander in the “Tzabar” unit.

In 2015, during a military patrol at the foot of Mount Dov on the northern border. The force of the “Tzabar” unit was attacked by Hezbollah terrorists. Anti-tank missiles were fired at the force, causing the deaths of Yochai and another fighter, Dor Nini.

Yochai’s dear family founded an association named after Yochai called “Of Kadima”, a sentence that Yochai used to say to his soldiers.

A significant part of the association’s activities is support and assistance to IDF soldiers. The association holds the “Operation Goha” every year. In this operation, with the help of many volunteers, they bring food and goods to IDF soldiers fighting in outposts and positions. In addition, they gives food packages for needy soldiers and their families.

At his death, Goha left a wife and two daughters without a father. In order to learn a little more about Yochai’s life and understand how much he was loved, I invite everyone to visit the website of the “Of Kadima” association, and in particular the book that his family did: https://uf-kadima.org.il/book/