Adi Tzur, a “Child of Love and Light”

Staff Sgt. Adi Tzur was the glue that held his friends together, a proud Golani soldier, and a young man with a huge heart and endless compassion for people and animals. He fell on October 7 in a defensive battle outside Kibbutz Kissufim, at the age of 20. His family describes the boy who brought light wherever he went, and shares the final moments before his death and the legacy he left behind.

Adi arrived in the world as the third child in the Tzur family, after two older brothers. “Adi came into the world, actually, after two older boys,” his mother, Sigal, says wistfully. “He came into a family that already existed, very mature. He came to a place that was already very much whole, a family that was already established. He was a boy who really came from a lot of love, a child of love. A boy truly full of light.”

From childhood, Adi stood out for his extraordinary social magnetism and a shy, mischievous smile that won everyone over. His father, Meir, remembers the summer vacation he was given and the beautiful moments at home: “He was a very, very sociable boy. He loved having friends with him and around him, and that is how he grew up. We have a big garden, and they would sit there for hours. Playing PlayStation, and soccer, and watching movies. All the friends would gather at our house in huge numbers.”

Roi, his older brother, describes the special role Adi played among his friends: “He played a lot of soccer, that was his main hobby, and he had lots of friends. He managed to bring a lot of friends together around him all the time. He was just such a modest kid, and he had a shy smile, and he knew how to unite so many people. He was always that glue in the group, connecting everyone.”

For his middle brother, Amit, Adi was the one who taught him the meaning of responsibility and sibling love: “Adi was born when I was already 7, but Adi came into the world with curious eyes and a really mischievous smile. Adi taught me how to be an older brother, I think for the first time in my life, and that was probably my most important lesson.”

Alongside his many friends, Adi had a great and steady love that stayed with him for years. “He had a six-year relationship with Inbal,” his parents say. “They started dating when he was 14. A great love. They פשוט grew together and it was wonderful to see. Until the day he fell, that relationship was still there.”

Another striking trait in Adi’s personality was his deep compassion, especially toward those who could not protect themselves. His mother says: “He had extraordinary compassion for people, and for every living creature and for animals. From a young age, he knew very well what he wanted, what was right for him. At a fairly early stage he began volunteering with animal organizations, especially dogs, and his heart went out to the hopeless dogs, those that had been abused, those that were older and abandoned.”

In August 2021, Adi enlisted in the Golani Brigade, where he trained as a sniper. His motivation was sky-high. “He enlisted with so much fire, drive, a desire to prove himself, a desire to prove where he came from,” the family says.

On the morning of October 7, Staff Sgt. Adi Tzur was on patrol outside Kibbutz Kissufim, as part of a sniper jeep team that included four snipers and a driver. When the rocket and shell attack began, the team took shelter in the kibbutz’s protected shelter. Adi managed to send a short video offering a glimpse of the first moments: “At first he sent a video showing them driving in the vehicle, and dozens of rockets flying over their heads.” The family replied anxiously: “Adi, take care of yourself, be careful, stay alert, watch out for your friends.” However, contact was cut off. “From there, there was no voice and no reply, basically, they tried to reach him again and again, and there was no answer.”

The fighters in the jeep began driving about 700 meters around the kibbutz, where they encountered several terrorist squads. “Later we learned from the inquiries that they managed to finish the incident there, and then terrorists came from behind.” Adi and his team fell in battle.

“I helped soldiers who had a harder time than me”

After his death, the family discovered another testament to Adi’s nobility in a message he left for his brother Amit after a grueling military trek: “He said it in his own voice, he said that ‘I saw that it was hard for me, I helped soldiers who were having a harder time than me.’ That’s Adi. That’s what characterizes Adi. And we, despite all the difficulties, we try to be Adi.”

Amit adds about the inner truth that characterized his younger brother: “Adi had an authenticity that was like it didn’t come from this world. There aren’t people here who have such authenticity, that really what he wants to do is what he truly wants to give, what he truly wants to happen.”

The family chose to memorialize Adi through community work and for the animals he loved so much: “We are always doing projects and initiatives that actually support the community, because that was him, helping, supporting, seeing. And that is how we came to know the organization ‘Chaim Shel Acherim,’ they established ‘The Magical House’ in Adi Tzur’s name. For me, this memorial is first and foremost my way of showing the world what we lost here, the great thing we lost.”

Sigal closes with words that have accompanied her since her son fell: “Every night I end my day in his room, tell him about the day that was, and thank him for the privilege he chose me for, to be his mother. Because I learned so much from him, so much.”

Staff Sgt. Adi Tzur, Golani Brigade, fell on 7.10.2023, at the age of 20. May his memory be blessed.