It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Eitan Koplovich, a dedicated student from the Hebrew University Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Humanities, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip almost two weeks ago.
Prof. Tomer Broude, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, pays tribute to Eitan Koplovich z”l:
With trembling hands I write this message to the entire community of the Faculty of Law, its friends and supporters, the kind of note whose writing I have dreaded ever since the vicious terror attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. One of our colleagues, Eitan Koplovich, a beloved third-year student of the Faculty, studying law and philosophy, 28 years old, married to Yael Zarfati-Koplovich, herself an alumna of the Faculty, and a father to Boaz, only eight months old, fell in Gaza Saturday in combat in Gaza on June 15th. The pain is extremely heavy to bear, and our thoughts and condolences are now with his grieving family, and the friends who knew him. The pain of Eitan’s loss is unbearable for his family and friends, but it is shared by us all, in a way that is palpable in the Faculty classes, halls and corridors. Sadness and anxiety have become our baseline emotions for the last eight months, but Eitan’s death has brought sorrow in the harshest relief to our academic home, which for many of us is our second home.
The Faculty has known terrible bereavement in the past – including the murder of Revital Barashi z”l in the 2002 terrorist bombing of the Campus Cafeteria, and Shlomo Aumann z”l and Nachum Goldberg z”l in the 1982 First Lebanon war. The Faculty itself was established in 1949 out of the ashes of the struggle for Israel’s independence. In every such time of crisis, we have strived, we and our predecessors, to persevere in our civic mission, namely, to maintain excellence in an independent institution of higher learning and legal training, as a pivotal component of Israeli society.
While we are just now emerging from the seven days of mourning, it is incumbent upon us to constantly remind ourselves what Eitan z”l was fighting for and for what he gave his life: not only for the defense of Israel’s borders, but for the continued existence of Israeli Society in all its diversity.
I and the entire faculty administration, academic and administrative staff, strengthen the hands of all members of the community in these difficult days, and vouch to continue on our university’s mission. We pray for the safety of our students serving in the reserves and for all those on the frontlines; we hope with all our hearts for the safe return of the abducted soldiers and civilians; for the wellbeing of those internally displaced from the Southern and Northern regions of Israel; and for better times in our region.
May his memory be a blessing.
Read more about Eitan z”l on the Jerusalem Post and Ynet News.com websites