An IDF soldier has been killed in a freak training accident, effectively jumping to his death after being unable to open his reserve chute.An IDF soldier from an elite unit was killed Thursday in a parachute training accident in a military base south of Ashdod. The soldier was identified as Yosef Goodman, 20, from Efrat and originally from New York.He will be laid to rest at 11:30 on Friday at Jerusalem’s Mt. Herzl military cemetery.A member of the Paratrooper battalion’s elite Maglan unit, Goodman jumped from an IDF plane together with other soldiers in a training exercise at the IDF’s Nizanim base, south of Ashdod. When his parachute opened, however, it got entangled with the parachute of another soldier. Both soldiers cut their parachutes, and while one succeeded in opening his reserve parachute, Goodman did not and fell to the ground. Magen David Adom medics pronounced his death at the scene.
I did not know the brave young man, but I once knew his father Mordechai. In 1993, I lived and studied in Efrat, as part of my return to Judaism. Mordechai owned the local pizza parlor, which happened to be located right under the Yeshiva in which I studied. This was particularly appreciated, since I was not a big fan of the dinners provided by the Yeshiva. I had many a pizza there, and perhaps I did meet young Yosef, who would have been about 8-years-old at the time.
While the death of each and every civilian or soldier is extremely sad and upsetting, there is a measure of cognitive dissonance involved. When it involves someone you know, it does not make it any more sad or upsetting, but does make it seem more real. And even though I have not seen Mordechai in over 11 years, and perhaps never met Yosef, his death has hit home more than many others.
I offer my heartfelt condolences to the Goodman family. Baruch dayan ha-emet.
Update: The Goodman’s are David’s neighbors. Here is his touching post on the subject.
