Ariel Barel

Ariel Mendi Barel, the son of Leah and Gershon, was born on 25 November 2003 and grew up in Ashdod. He had two brothers and three sisters. He attended the Nachalat Meir Talmud Torah and later the Amit yeshiva in the city. From childhood through his teenage years, he surrounded himself with friends, whose memories return to his smile, his embrace, and his ability to bring people together. He loved nature, hiking, and physical fitness, and often walked along the beach in Ashdod.

While still in high school, he created Moonlight, a website selling designed gifts, and continued developing and running it during his military service. The municipal archive describes the gifts he made using laser engraving, alongside the initiative and dedication he invested in the business. His friend Maor Vaknin described how Ariel continued to bring people together even after his death, as his friends came to know one another and his family through their shared memories of him. Yitzhak Benyon wrote about their friendship in the company and the promise to continue standing by the family.

On 22 March 2023, he enlisted in the IDF and served as a driver in the Logistics Corps. During the war, he served in the Binyamin sector. His love of sport stayed with him at his base, where he built a gym. On 10 March 2025, he set out on a journey between bases to return a weapon. On Route 465, near Beit Aryeh, he was injured in a collision with a truck and died of his wounds. He was twenty-one and was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ashdod.

His family continues to run the gift website he established. Stickers were produced in his memory, and a memorial page was opened. His parents also chose to commemorate him with a Torah scroll, which was brought into the Or Yitzhak synagogue in Ashdod. Family members, rabbis, and public figures attended the completion of the writing, followed by a procession to the synagogue. Alongside his friends' words of farewell, the work of his hands and the initiatives created in his memory endure. May his memory be a blessing.