On Tuesday evening, April 29, Masa Israel Journey will hold its 17th annual Yom HaZikaron ceremony for Israel's Remembrance Day, at Yad L’Shiryon in Latrun to remember the soldiers and victims of terror who gave their lives for the State of Israel.
The event, which will be broadcast live to Jewish communities worldwide, will focus on the stories of lone soldiers, new immigrants, citizens, and tourists who came to Israel from around the world and fell while fulfilling their duties in the IDF or were murdered in terror attacks in Israel and the Diaspora.
This past year, two Masa alumni, Ronny Ganizate from France and Ilan Cohen from Argentina, were killed in the course of their IDF service in the Swords of Iron War. Here are their stories:
Born in Marseilles, France, Ronny was the fourth of five children, all of whom made aliyah. “We weren’t running away from life in France,” says his brother Raphael. “Life was good there. We made aliyah because we wanted to.”
When Ronny turned 18, he decided to spend a year on Bnei Akiva’s Hachshara program, which is conducted in cooperation with Masa Israel Journey. After completing his army service, Ronny began working at his brother Jeremy’s accounting firm while continuing active reserve service (miluim).
Honoring the bravery of Ronny and Ilan
Ronny never missed a day of reserve duty. Jeremy recalls: “I remember sometimes I had exams, sometimes I had work, and I asked if I could shift things around. But for Ronny, no matter what, he would always show up for reserves. Every time he was called, he came.”
As a soldier in the Nachal infantry brigade, Ronny spent much of his reserve duty patrolling Israel’s northern border. On the night of October 7, 2023, after the Hamas attack on Israel’s south, he was called to the army. Over the course of the next year, Ronny spent more than 200 days in four separate stints of reserve duty.
In September 2024, he was called in for his fourth tour. Ronny was told that they would be entering Lebanon. Says Raphael, “When he learned they were going into Lebanon, he was happy because he felt that we were now doing something, and we would be restoring our honor.”
Ronny’s platoon entered Lebanon on a mission to clear a village. “The day before the incident, they searched homes, found weapons and tunnels, and he was very proud of that,” says Jeremy. A few days later, the fatal battle took place.
IDF soldiers entered a village where terrorist cells were said to be lurking. Eight terrorists hiding in a large school nearby ambushed the soldiers. Ronny was killed instantly, and a few days later, another soldier succumbed to his injuries—Ronny, 36, left behind his wife, Shoshana, and three children.
Ronny loved the land of Israel. “He said that Israel is where one can truly live,” says Raphael. He felt that one’s potential could be fulfilled only in Israel. What I will remember most about my brother was his smile.”
Ilan Cohen was born in Argentina. Ilan was deeply connected to Jewish values and dedicated his time to community service. He loved sports, especially soccer.
“Ilan was always a very likable child,” says his mother, Adriana. “He had many friends. When he was sixteen years old, he started to read about the establishment of Israel, and one day, he told me, ‘Mommy, this is a miracle.’ He said, ‘I have to be in Israel.’” His father added: “He said he wanted to enlist in the IDF.”
Ilan arrived in Israel on a Masa program, studying at a Yeshiva. Ari, a close friend of Ilan’s, recalls, “I met Ilan at the Yeshiva in Migdal Ha-Emek, where we both studied. We became best friends very quickly. He was a very spiritual person. He had a very special connection to the Torah.”
In April 2023, Ilan enlisted in the IDF and was assigned to the Paratroopers Brigade. “We were both lone soldiers,” said Ari. “We didn’t have our families here in Israel, so we had each other. He was more than a friend to me, more like a brother.”
On October 7, 2023, while in the middle of his military training, Ilan was on a weekend off in Jerusalem. He was called back along with the rest of his unit, and they were sent to Kibbutz Be’eri and later into the Gaza Strip. “He called me and said, ‘You wouldn’t believe it. It’s worse than a movie,’” his mother said.
At the end of March 2024, his parents came for a visit to Israel, and Ilan was able to meet them. “He was very tired, but he said, ‘The reason I’m going in again is to bring the hostages back home.’” Afterward, he participated in further training and went on additional combat missions in Gaza.
He took pride in his service and viewed his mission of returning the hostages to their homes as his personal calling. In May 2024, Ilan’s unit entered Gaza once again as part of an operation to return the hostages. During the mission, they successfully recovered four hostages found in a tunnel.
Staff Sergeant Ilan Moshe Cohen fell in battle on the 7th of Iyar, 15 May 2024, at the age of 20. Says Ari, “If I could talk to him again, I would thank him for everything he did for the Jewish people.”
This article was written in cooperation with Masa Israel Journey.
