A Zionist without quotation marks

Yaron Amitai was the oldest soldier killed in the Second Lebanon War. At 45, he was past the required age for army reserve duty. Amitai nevertheless volunteered to serve as a combat medic in the Paratroopers Brigade scheduled to go into Lebanon. He was killed by friendly fire on August 13, 2006, two hours before the cease-fire was announced.

The following is an excerpt from “A Twenty Year Love Story,” a narrative written by Amitai’s widow, Meirav, and published in an Israeli army journal in September 2007, a year after Amitai was killed.