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Two weeks before the war, Keren and I were talking,
HiIa, Keren"s friend and she just burst out crying.
She said they wouIdn't Iet her cross the battIe line.
That reaIIy frustrated her because she didn't view herseIf
any different than everyone eIse,
because she did everything that everyone eIse did.
During that phone caII, I toId her that if that's what she wants,
Keren in the heIicopter. The Iast photo she shouIdn't give in. She shouId go with it alI the way.
Danny, Squadron Commander "'Night Leaders"' Chopper Squadron I remember her in the front part of the heIicopter on the right,
Keren in the heIicopter. The Iast photo standing with her back to me, her arms crossed, with her heImet on
because of the noise, and her ponytaiI in the back.
You wouId just Iook at her and say that"s how a combat soIdier Iooks.
Brigadier GeneraI Amir EshseI Air Force She was a person who made a decision.
She was determined. She didn"t give in.
She was a traiIbIazer. I know what that"s aII about.
I beIieve that there"s a chance
that peopIe can break through boundaries that hoId them in.
Remnants of the helicopter after the tragedy
The IDF mourns the faII of first sergeant Keren TendIer, daughter of Dan and Rivana
The funeraI wiII take place on Wednesday, August 6, 2006 at 1 1 :00...
Dan, Keren's father After the tragedy happened, I had a dream that she comes back
and says, ''Look I'm back. We fIew somewhere and didn"t have contact.
"'But I'm back.'' She comes over to hug me, and the minute
that she hugs me, I feeI that we're going somewhere.
Leaving everyone eIse. The two of us go off together.
"'She Touched the Sky'' The story of Keren TendIer, may her memory be bIessed
She was born in Rehovot, in KapIan HospitaI.
We are from Romania, so I sent a teIegram in Romanian
saying ''We have a baby girI'"
We were happy we had a bIonde haired girI.
Rivana, Keren's mother When she was IittIe, she was so aware of that, she once said,
"'God, send me a bIonde haired sister who's pretty Iike me.''
Keren, Bat Mitzvah, 1 2 At home, we didn't notice her interest in technoIogy.
We didn't think in that direction, at aII.
It could have started when she began studying at ORT Tech.
The principaI recommended that she wouId major in mechanics.
ORT Tech, Rehovot
There were 40 students in our cIass. 5 of them were girIs.
It was reaIIy odd to see girIs studying something
that was considered, at the time, very mascuIine.
Sebi, a cIassmate at ORT Rehovot In the cIass, some of the guys were Ioud mouths
and they were considered the popuIar crowd.
Keren was one of the quieter students in the cIass.
She was more focused on studying.
CIM Lab in memory of Keren TendIer, who feII in the Lebanon War II. She was a good student.
Keren TendIer, of bIessed memory, was an aIumnus our schooI,
and this lab is in her name.
We are proud of our graduate, who succeeded in achieving
speciaI things, in schooI and in her career.
She achieved a great deal, even though her career was brief.
In every schooI year, we have 2-3 girIs in each cIass.
She was one of them, and as aIways, the girls take the Iead.
Dr. Yosef GrunfeId PrincipaI of ORT Tech, Rehovot She was driven to prove that she wasn't different
or Iess worthy than the men, and she succeeded in her mission.
I reaIIy hope that we"Il find it. We don't usualIy save them for Iong.
It is reaIIy a miracIe that we found it.
MechanicaI Engineering This is Keren's finaI project, and if I"m not mistaken,
she received a very high mark. 90 or 95.
Nissim HiIIeI Mechanics Department Administrator That reaIIy characterized Keren. She wanted to do speciaI things.
Interesting things. But practicaI. Not just theoretical.
What made Keren so speciaI was that she knew how to draw others in.
She wasn't overtaken by the boys. She stood out and Ied the cIass.
That"s what characterized Keren.
You can"t remember everyone.
If you ask to remember others, I"m not sure we'II be abIe to.
But Keren was very speciaI. She reaIIy stood out.
It is very easy to remember her.
She was determined to succeed. To compIete the matricuIation exams.
She had two additionaI years of study after high schooI, you see.
So at the age of 20, she aIready had an engineering certificate.
This is my smaII corner for Keren.
This is where I save these Ietters.
Yael, Keren"s friend "'To YaeIoosh:
"'If you're reading this letter, it means you've begun
"'officer's training, and I"m probably in schooI, thinking about everything
"'you are doing that I'm not. Do you know what I remembered?
"'I just remembered that many years ago, two sort of nerdy girIs
"'who Iiked to swim met at a swim meet at the WeisgaI pooI,
"'and I am so sad that I won't see you for such a Iong time.
"'AIways remember that here in Rehovot, there"s a crazy ***
"'who writes you weird Ietters and says she misses you a Iot.
"'So if you"re down, she"II aIways be happy to weIcome you at her house.
"'Is it clear? Love you very much. Keren."'
AII the times we feII in Iove or had a crush on some guy.
AII the teenage nonsense. She was aIways there for me.
To me, my teenage years were aIways me and Keren.
Here's a picture of her and her first boyfriend.
"'Dear Madam: Here you have a nice photo of two crazy
"'and most dangerous feIons who broke out of the locaI insane asyIum.
"'They are not aware of their actions.
"'If you have any idea where they were last seen, pIease caII by phone
"'and ask for Keren, who is leading the investigation.''
I moved into a new apartment this week,
and when I was packing up, I came across tens of Ietters
that Keren sent, notes and pictures.
It reaIIy took me back to what was back then. The connection.
The feeIings. Their intensity.
Eran, Keren's first boyfriend "'I'm So Excited.'' That is truIy Keren.
A song in EngIish that taIks about enthusiasm, reIationships and Iove.
ExactIy the type of pure happiness that Keren had.
We were at a Bed and Breakfast in Kfar YuvaI.
She went ice skating and surprised me with her expertise.
I thought she was an amateur, Iike me.
She tried to do tricks. Skate backwards, fIick-fIacks.
I can't remember any other time in my Iife that I went out
so often to parties, to movies, with friends, on hikes.
I can define my reIationship with Keren as ''Iove at first sight.''
When we spoke at the pooI, it was cIear to both of us
that there was something, and we were progressing towards
something very, very serious.
It was cIear to both of us that we were in Iove.
It was cIear to both of us that this reIationship was a serious one.
Rivana, Keren's mother When we first heard she was going out with Eran, we jumped
and said, "'Boys, etc.'' The natural apprehensions that parents have.
But she shared. There wasn"t anything to hide, reaIIy.
It was as if I knew I had to make the most of the short and Iimited
period of time that we had to be with Keren.
It was as if someone limited our time and we had to make the most
of our time together. In retrospect, that"s how I'd explain it.
Induction Base
We went to her enIistment. We took photos with the entire famiIy.
When we arrived at the TeI HaShomer base...
We were first on base at six a.m. TeI HaShomer wasn't even open yet.
She got on the bus and we took so many photographs.
I remember the first time she came home, she wanted us to take pictures
of her in uniform. She invited her friend, YaeI.
I took pictures of both of them.
She was so excited about the IDF.
I remember when we were kids, she used to Ieaf through pamphIets
they used to give out to newIy enIisted soldiers
with pictures of the army. She was...
She waited with such passion for the day she"d enIist
and she was so scared she"d be a secretary.
She was scared to death that she"d get some insignificant position.
Right from the start, the army meant everything to her.
"'I never beIieved I wouId be worthy to get to know a person Iike you.
"'A few years ago, I enIisted
"'and fought to serve in a chaIIenging position.
"'I found myseIf serving in a chopper squadron as a mechanic.
"'The onIy girI in a position that is rareIy assigned to femaIes.
"'I couIdn"t have asked for more. TotaI enjoyment and experience.
"'UntiI you arrived. You fought against every convention.''
She was driven to succeed in that area.
HiIa, a friend from the army She wanted to be a squadron fIight mechanic.
That"s the highest you can go in that fieId. That was her dream.
"'You reaIIy annoyed me. Who did you think you were, coming in?
"'Going against alI conventions, creating a competition
"'between the two of us when it was cIear I couId never keep up.
"'It"s hard to say, in those days, that I Ioved you. Just the opposite.
"'I hated you for weakening my position in the squadron.
"'You were hundreds of times better than me.'"
It aII started with her getting up at five in the morning,
and she'd take these huge manuaIs that taught about aII the parts
in the heIicopter. She simpIy study them.
More than anybody else. More than anybody eIse who comes to serve.
She shows up and gets right to it.
"'After I acted rather viciousIy, I kicked you out of the room,
"'I expected that you"d go to one of the officers and telI him
"'what a *** I was.
"'But you surprise me each time anew. You kept your head Iow.
"'You kept quiet. After two months of not speaking, with you succeeding
"'in every area you touched, I reached the conclusion that I wanted
"'to enjoy myseIf and I wanted to succeed.
"'After a sincere discussion, our friendship began.
"'The friendship turned to Iove.'"
I Iearned a Iot from her. To beIieve in myseIf.
To strive for things that you want.
I must say that there were officers who didn't accept the fact
that a girI wouId hold a position never heId by girls before.
IIan, Flight Mechanic When she wanted to join a course for fIight mechanics,
there were some difficuIt things that are hard for men to do
in chopper maintenance. She managed. It was amazing.
She was the first femaIe fIight mechanic. It wasn't easy for her.
She was very sensitive and that's why she was upset by the process.
TruthfuIIy, the male soIdiers found it difficuIt in the beginning
to accept her, but when they saw the scope of her knowIedge,
there weren"t many who couId confront that.
Danny, Squadron Commander "'Night Leaders"' Chopper Squadron She made sure that we, and everyone around her, understood
that she wouId do everything just Iike everyone eIse.
She didn"t want any Ieeway or short cuts.
She'd do whatever everyone eIse did.
This chopper has a soul and whoever wants to be a fIight mechanic
is going to have to work hard. To be committed to the mission.
To love the heIicopter. To love the work.
As a fIight mechanic, you have to know aII parts of the aircraft,
the technicaI side, and you aIso take part in rescue missions.
When you go out to rescue, it's an amazing feeIing.
You did something. That"s the reason you fIy.
Keren aIways Iike to take part.
Patrick, FIight Mechanic When they caIIed her, she"d aIways be the first to show up.
There"s no doubt that she Ioved the squadron. She Ioved the peopIe.
And she aIso Ioved the position.
I got to know Keren when I was the officer of TeI Nof.
Amir EsheI, Base Commander, miI. It was a base with thousands of peopIe, but there are peopIe
that you connect with. I got to know her from a number of events.
We fIew together severaI times. I fIew the heIicopter.
We were supposed to hook up with a force in the Negev.
It was very late at night. We had to Ioad a car. 3.5 tons. To tie it up.
Who was doing the work? Who was that amazing gnome? You see her.
A smaII person with a heImet and a ponytaiI, running around
in the back. One, two, three. Then, you hear, '"You may take off.'"
Okay, everything's ready.
That whirIwind of a ponytaiI with a heImet was something else.
There isn't anyone Iike that.
If I Iook at it professionaIIy, as part of the air force,
how far couId she go? The sky was the Iimit.
It just depended on what she wanted. You couId feeI it.
Keren had so much inner strength.
From the radio show, "'A Mother's Voice,"' IDF Radio. HeIIo. Good evening. -Good evening, Keren. How are you? -I'm fine.
So how is it to be the onIy girI in the IDF rescue force?
It's reaIIy fun. They spoiI me. I enjoy every second.
A question. -Yes. -What does your mother think about aII this?
ActuaIly, she's very proud of me. -Very proud? -Yes.
She sent you without any probIem? Without worrying?
I never said she doesn't worry. She worries Iike any parent.
But she's very proud of me. -ReaIIy? We are aII proud.
I think they Iiked the idea. -They Iiked the idea. Okay.
WeII, aII the best to you. -Thank you. -We're proud of you.
Thank you. -Take care of yourseIves. -Thanks.
Viki, Keren's friend This fieId reaIIy interested her. I"d say, '"What do you need it for?''
Dirty hands aII the time. Wearing one of those jumpsuits.
Tending to aII those parts in the heIicopter.
It's such complicated apparatus. And it's dangerous.
She toId me that once she was doing a test, and she was stiII
up there on the heIicopter, and they turned on the propeIler.
She was aImost decapitated.
But she toId the story with such excitement.
I almost fainted, and she said, "'So what? It happens.
"'But I jumped off and managed.'" She had fun.
She enjoyed it.
Every free moment, in between missions, work or her studies
in the army, she'd come here or swim on base aII the time.
I think that if she couId Iive in the water, she wouId have.
When she was... -Five and a haIf. -I took her to Iearn to swim.
He swims very weII, in contrast to me.
They wouId compete in EiIat, against one another.
At some stage, he said "'She surpassed me aIready"'
He had to admit that she was better than he was.
Viki, worked with Keren as a Iifeguard at the pool When she was working and her father wouId come, she wouId run
over to him Iike a IittIe girI. She'd hug and kiss him.
They'd ask one another how everything was doing.
Everyone wouId go back to work. Her dad wouId go and swim.
They were Iike friends.
Ben Gurion Airport She aIso had a desire to traveI and to visit other countries.
She'd want to traveI a few times every year or at Ieast once a year
A trip to South America to traveI to a different country to see speciaI sites.
I guess that's something that reaIly bothers me aII Iife Iong
that we aIways planned to traveI together and each time,
I had a reason and would say, maybe next month.
She said she wouIdn"t wait. She said she'd go aIone.
Now, I regret that I never found the time to go.
WeisgaI PooI in Rehovot It's also so difficuIt to taIk in past tense because she"s here.
She's with us. She hasn't gone.
She'II come back from her break, sit down and get back to yeIIing
at the to stop jumping.
This was aIways a spot for jumping.
The pooI has been emptied of water just Iike our Iives
have become empty because she is gone.
***, '"Masters'' team member We swam together on the '"Masters'" team in Rehovot.
It's a swim team that practices three times a week.
Two weeks before she was kiIIed, we stood here on the porch
in such a different atmosphere.
That evening, we sat in my Iiving room with a few friends
watching the finaIs of '"A Star is Born III.''
Here is Keren, sitting on the couch in my Iiving room with friends.
It's the same Iiving room. The same house.
The same couch. But Keren isn't with us anymore.
It's very hard. It's incomprehensibIe.
It's incomprehensibIe.
It's very hard to watch these fiIms.
Here's a picture of us sitting together in the Iiving room
that night and it's so strange how pictures take on a different meaning
when things Iike that happen.
When I was at the mourning house, I met Keren's friends
and they invited me to swim. To join them.
I went and I just kept going. That"s where my rehabiIitation began.
That Keren"s not here anymore.
The entrance to the swimming center in Rehovot
Yael is stuck in the mud and we're trying to get her out
Liat, ''Masters'' team member so that we can make it to the practice.
We won"t give up so easiIy.
Keren wouId show up in any situation.
Maybe she"d get out of the car and try to push it.
Miri, ''Masters'' team member Or she'd Ieave the car and try to get there any way she couId.
The car wouId wait for Iater.
I"m sure she'd jump straight into the mud, with everything,
to rescue, to heIp out. No doubt about it.
She was unique in the fact that there was nothing she wouIdn"t do.
I remember at one practice, it was reaIIy coId.
ShIomo, "'Masters"' team member She said, '"Guys, the water is coId, but we"re going to swim.''
She jumped in and we couIdn't help but foIIow.
She was a young girl. We were men, but we were cowards. So we jumped.
She had a presence that couId not be ignored.
She was heard. She was seen. It was her vivacity.
She was very mature. Very smart.
Naama, '"Masters'' team member She was a person you couId taIk to about everything.
She'd give me advice on aII sorts of things,
as if I was a kid and she was Iike my big sister.
Now, years Iater, I understand how right she was.
So many things she toId me, that at the time, I didn"t beIieve,
but today, they are coming true, one after the other.
And every time something Iike that happens, it reminds me of her
and I have to say, ''Keren, thank you for making me strong.'"
ReaIIy, I am reminded of her so many times.
This is going to sound imaginary. I feIt warm when I got in the water.
It happened to me once after Keren was kiIIed.
I suddenIy feIt a warmth, and now it happened to me in the water.
This is where we'd meet, once a week just about,
Lilach, ''Masters'' team member after swimming practice. There are nine years between us, after aII.
Keren stiII hadn"t experienced being a parent, or marriage.
She adjusted herseIf to whatever I was going through,
so I realIy enjoyed being with her.
There was a point when she thought about leaving the army.
On one hand, she reaIIy Ioved what she did in the army,
but on the other hand, she wanted to deveIop and study something.
She had very deep deIiberations about it
and she shared them with aII of us.
She wanted to continue on and take an officer"s course.
She said she couIdn't stand the current situation,
as they wouIdn't Iet her progress and she toId us she submitted
a request to be discharged.
That was two months before she could sign up for career service.
That was the first time I ever saw Keren cry in the army.
I heard she was discharged,
but I didn't see it as finaI.
I know that the squadron, the fIights,
the missions were in her bIood.
So, fine. She wanted to get a taste of other things? That's okay.
She had aIl the foundations to return at some point in time.
I was sorry that she was Ieaving.
I thought this track wouId heIp her progress quicker.
I didn't teII anyone. I kept my thoughts to myseIf.
But it couId be that my thoughts pushed her back to the squadron
as part of the reserves.
And when she returned, what happened, happened.
There couId be something in what he says,
but on the other hand, I know for sure she wanted to keep serving
in the reserves.
It's very *** us with the idea that we encouraged her,
and we do have those thoughts, that we encouraged her
to serve in the reserves.
Even though she wanted to serve in the reserves, by herseIf.
But the truth is, when she received the acceptance Ietter to study Iaw,
she was so happy.
I was in the other room and suddenly I heard '"Mom Mom!
"'I was accepted to study Iaw"'
We'd Ieave a cIass, and every cIass, I mean every 45 minutes or an hour,
Marina, Iaw student at the CoIIege of Management we actuaIIy Iearned something new.
She had that desire to learn, because before she began Iaw,
she debated between studying Iaw or the sciences.
She reaIIy Ioved it and appreciated it and took it very seriousIy.
Keren TendIer, may her memory be bIessed 26.09.1 979 - 1 2.08.2006 Law Student FeII in the Lebanon War II Serving as a FIight Mechanic Every paper we had to do. Every test we studied for.
No doubt about it. She was a very serious student.
The professors aIl knew her, and when a cIass has 300 students,
and you remember a particuIar student, that says something
about her presence.
She found strength in knowIedge.
She had the desire to change. It was a reaIistic desire.
It wasn't Iike, "'I'm going to change the worId.''
More Iike ''When I"Il become a Iawyer I can join a certain organization
and I can do something.'" She wanted to strengthen those who needed it.
EIIa, Iaw student at the CoIIege of Management I onIy knew her for a short time, but in the worId of Iaw,
it is very difficuIt to find peopIe who are sincere,
or peopIe who are truIy wiIIing to heIp others, and the fact
that she fought for the things she Ioved, and enjoyed it
is so admirabIe.
C.V. Keren TendIer She wrote that she was about to finish her first year of studies.
She wrote that her first priority wouId be to join the workshop
for women's rights and she specifies why.
She writes, ''During my army career, I served under two officers,
Attorney Naomi Levankron Administrator of the CIinic for Women"s Rights "'who, much to my regret,
"'caused me to throw in the toweI and ask to be discharged.
"'Their attitude affected me as they prevented me from going on
"'aII sorts of operations that wouId have befitted my position
"'and sIowed the pace of my progress as compared to my maIe peers.
"'My goaI is to ensure that other girls in this position (in hope
"'that they succeed ), wiII not experience simiIar situations.
"'I beIieve that I shouId be accepted to the workshop
"'because the two years that I served with these officers
"'gave me the drive to do
"'everything necessary for the advancement of women
"'in the army and in our "'enIightened"' country in general."'
I met with Keren for just one hour out of her entire Iife,
but I saw that she was very impressive.
She Iooked Iike a young girI, with a fIowery skirt, tank top,
and fIip-fIops. Not anything that resembIed the CV she sent me.
But I reaIIy think that she was such an impressive young woman.
So many young women come who don"t reaIIy know what they want.
They study Iaw to satisfy their parents
and they don't reaIIy have an agenda of their own.
But she was reaIly everything...
Everything I"d Iike to see in a student. And that's aII.
Keren"s room WeII...
We have her coIIege backpack. It was aIways in her car.
Whenever she had time, even in the middIe of a flight, she'd study Iaw.
Her foIders from her Iaw studies are aII here.
Her exam scheduIe through the end of June. She took them aII.
Except "'InternationaI Law.'" It was supposed to take pIace in September.
But she didn't manage.
This is on Purim. Danny gave them gIasses. I don't know where from.
Nadav, Keren's brother I don't remember the story so weII. Those creams have her smelI.
I Iike to smeII those smeIIs. It remains part of her.
When she bought the car, the first thing she did was check the radio.
I brought her a burned disc from home and the probIem was
with the disc, not with the radio, but in any case, it didn"t work,
and she didn't even check if the car started up or not.
She got so upset that they screwed us over.
They soId us a car with a bad radio.
Every time she drove, she"d drive with the radio on fuII-bIast.
Even in my opinion, it was too Ioud.
Nadav's bar-mitzvah One night, when I was IittIe, an hour and haIf before the new year
I received a smaII, shrieking gift that I'd been waiting for.
My parents decided to caII this gift "'Nadav,"' and he is so generous.
Since then, 1 3 years have passed, during which Nadav and I fought,
cried, Iaughed, and most of aII, loved.
There was a time in which they didn"t get aIong.
This Iast year, this Iast period, they were the best of friends.
And I truIy beIieve that we reaIIy miss that.
She'd heIp us with him, as weII. She'd taIk to him.
I was cIoser to her.
It was harder for me to connect with them. She was more my age.
She understood me better. You know. When parents are annoying...
She'd aIready experienced that herseIf and couId advise
how to react in certain situations.
She had more infIuence on my mom than anyone eIse in the house.
She was aIso my mom's confidante and got aIong with her the best.
Now, my mom feeIs that she doesn't have a confidante anymore
and is Ieft with two men.
During the Iast summer, she had something with someone that was
very disappointing. She was an open person. She couIdn"t hide anything.
I remember our Iast conversation.
I encouraged her that she deserved the most perfect of aII. ReaIIy.
She said, "'Thanks for the encouragement.'"
I don't think she was encouraged!
That"s how we ended the conversation.
We said we'd talk. That was our last conversation.
During our waIks, she'd taIk about her friends from swimming
and from schooI. She Ioved studying so much.
Even in my ninth month, she"d take me out for these waIks.
She wouIdn't Iet me give in.
Even though Keren had a man"s job, she paid a Iot of attention
Yifat, Keren"s friend to her femininity. After her discharge, she started
her studies, and when the war began, she returned to the army.
During one of our waIks, she said... It was a week before she officiaIIy
returned to the army and wouId have to wear that jumpsuit again,
she said, "'I have to Iose 5 pounds so I"II fit in the jumpsuit.
"'I have to Iook good in the jumpsuit!'"
Even in that mascuIine position,
it was important to her that she'd Iook good,
with the right figure, so that the jumpsuit wouIdn't be too big.
That she'd Iook good in the jumpsuit on the fIights, with the helmet...
I caIIed Keren. It was JuIy 1 2.
Keren said, "'Mom, don"t ask what's going on. It Iooks Iike war.
"'Take my car out of the parking Iot. Park it in the direction of TeI Nof."'
During the war, I assigned the fIight mechanics their missions,
Itzik, FIight Mechanic and at first, once we understood which direction the war was going,
we first assigned the veteran mechanics, the more experienced ones
and at first, Keren wasn"t Iisted. It drove her crazy.
She wouIdn't Iet us be. She said she returned to her army career.
She wanted to fIy Iike everyone eIse.
She refused to be treated Iike a reserves soIdier
who is less skilIed than a professionaI soIdier.
She kept insisting and insisting and didn't give up for a minute.
I was waIking around the squadron on Friday and Saturday
Danny, Squadron Commander "'Night Leaders"' Chopper Squadron To make sure they were preparing the helicopters
and to see the soIdiers, aIl my peopIe, my staff, and I remember
Keren was sitting here. She was on aIert at the squadron.
She came and said to me, "'So, Danny. What's going on?
"'When wiII I start doing the serious stuff?"'
That"s what reaI combat soIdiers do. They push to go out on missions.
They endanger their Iives.
She came and said, "'I'm putting on the pressure.""
She wanted to be part of the action.
She compIained that they wouIdn't Iet her fIy out on a mission.
I said, "'Keren, it's not such a tragedy.'"
"'What You don't understand! PeopIe who left 20 years ago are caIIed up.
"'Don"t you understand? It's very important to fIy. To contribute!"'
To contribute to the war effort.
They refused to Iet her fIy.
They didn't assign her to a fIight she was supposed to serve on.
She was so... She said, '"I'm sick of this.
"'How much Ionger can they ignore me? Why don't they give me a flight?
"'Is it because I"m a girI? Why? I"m just as good! I know as much!''
Whenever Keren wouId get angry, she"d get as red as a tomato.
She'd come into the office, aIl red.
And I"d know this wasn"t going to be easy conversation.
"'If I don't fIy now, I"II kiII someone, or I'II pick up and Ieave.
"'I voIunteered to serve, but I wiII simpIy get up and go.
You have to assign me a fIight now.'' It was a serious threat.
Keren knew if she said something, she was going to do it.
The evening before she feII, she was assigned to a mission simiIar
to the one she performed.
On the Friday night before Keren feII,
we had a very similar mission in Lebanon.
It was very simiIar to the mission in which Keren feII in combat.
On that specific mission, I assigned her to fly with me as a team.
We were aIso the first chopper to land on site in Lebanon.
I knew this was Keren's first fIight and she was very excited.
We had to get out and warn a bus that was cIose to the chopper.
ShmuIik, FIight Mechanic She tried to jump out the door and hung there with her head down.
One of the soIdiers heIped her out. I said it looked Iike ''maimutsa.''
In Romanian, "'maimutsa'" means a monkey.
She was pIeased I said something to her in Romanian.
When we got back from the fIight, she was reaIIy pIeased
and went home so proud.
On the day she feII, I asked her if it wasn't enough already.
How much did she have to fIy? Enough aIready.
She Iooked at me as if she didn't understand what I wanted from her.
On Saturday morning, I caIIed her. I asked her how it went.
She was overjoyed.
She said, '"I heard there"s another mission tonight."'
I toId her that we were assigning it to peopIe who didn't fIy yesterday.
We had to divide the burden equaIIy. She'd flown aII night.
She must be tired...
"'I guess you didn't understand. I"m coming tonight.
"'I'm going to the squadron right now to see if they need any heIp.''
And so she was assigned that mission.
She calIed me into her room and toId me to bring her an exacto-bIade
from the Iiving room.
She said if she"d be taken prisoner, she"d sIash her wrists.
I didn't understand. I said, '"Leave me aIone. I"m watching a movie.'"
Then she said, ''Sorry for bothering you in the middIe of a movie.'"
Then she left. It"s too bad I didn't have a chance...
To say goodbye properIy. If I wouId have known that I was saying
goodbye forever, I wouId have said goodbye in a more...
appropriate manner.
Of course, I"d teII her that I Iove her,
and that I reaIIy admire her,
so at least in the finaI moments of her Iife,
she wouId know that her brother admires her.
At four, four thirty, I heard on the radio
that soIdiers are being flown into Lebanon and they said it was
the Iargest fIight of soIdiers in the history of the IDF.
I remember I was happy and I said, "'Great! We'II show them!''
At first, there was a major briefing with aII the officiaIs.
Briefing before the mission This is a compIex, complicated mission.
It is the most complex mission we have even undertaken.
Team chopper assignments We usuaIIy don't say who is in which pIane because everyone
has to focus on his mission and on his team.
Of course we planned to meet and talk after the mission.
That"s what we aIways did.
The evening of the mission And we Ieft for the mission.
We knew it was going to be difficuIt. Everyone was tense.
We landed and did what we were supposed to do.
Keren in the heIicopter Last photo
A few seconds after take-off, we heard that aircraft number 2
was hit. When we turned around, I saw what happened.
When I saw, I understand that the worst of aII happened.
I tried to stay optimistic and see if we couId save anyone.
But very quickIy, we understood that the situation was hopeIess.
"'HezbuIIah succeeds in shooting down a heIicopter in South Lebanon"'
At ten thirty, I know I sat down in front of the computer
and I saw an articIe that a Yasur helicopter was shot down in Lebanon.
Later on, we could hear the helicopters returning to base.
I couId see the heIicopters very weII above the house.
I Iooked in aII cars going by to see if soIdiers were in them,
to see if soIdiers were coming to our house. I Iooked.
I was taIking to a friend of mine, who hadn't gone to sIeep, either.
Her husband didn"t go to sIeep, either. He said one thing:
If Keren doesn't caII home, something bad has happened.
As I spoke with her, the soIdiers arrived.
We had some passport pictures here,
and she took the picture,
and at that moment, she said, "'My daughter is gone.''
I got anxious. I said, "'Why are you saying such nonsense?
"'What's with you?!"' I waIked around thinking how couId she
say a thing Iike that?
The officer came and said they were stiII missing in action.
We toId him we didn't beIieve it. "'No, they are MIA."' He insisted.
Mission to rescue Keren's body
On Sunday, they found four bodies.
But they didn't find Keren.
They brought in the 669 rescue unit and the ShaIdag speciaI forces.
They found her. The devotion of 669, those young soIdiers in 669...
They're onIy 1 8, 1 9, 20. The way they took care of her body.
The way they wrapped her up. They treated her Iike their sister.
As if it were someone from their family.
The IDF mourns the faII of first sergeant Keren TendIer, daughter of Dan and Rivana
They brought the coffin here to the house and from there,
we went to the cemetery.
I think aII of Rehovot was there.
Even people who didn't know us came when they heard about it.
I toId my husband in Romanian, Iet's both go in as weII
and be done with it. The end. That"s what I was thinking.
I remember that cIear as day.
Dan was caImer. He said, "'We have Nadav.''
The buriaI ceremony has ended.
The helicopter was Dan's idea.
This is what we wrote on the grave:
"'Our Keren. SmiIing, ambitious, Ioving human beings, and combatant,
"'In our hearts forever.'"
This is her car. When it happened, we had two cars.
But we had onIy one Iicense. Nadav didn't have a Iicense yet.
I said, "'What wiII we do with the car? We'II seII it.'"
Nadav disagreed. He said this car is going to stay in the famiIy.
I don't know. It's her car. We can't just selI it off.
My dad is worried about its vaIue. Every year, it devaIues.
But I don't measure its vaIue in money.
We decided to do something in her memory.
Keren Park, Rehovot Since she was a sportswoman, we put up exercise equipment
so peopIe wouId come and work out.
When I see peopIe coming here to work out and enjoy the pIace,
they'lI come back again and again, and in the end, they'II come
and read why the park was buiIt, and about Keren's life story.
This is good. I Iike to taIk about it.
In the Second Lebanon War, an air force heIicopter was shot
down by HezboIIah. There were 5 fIight members with one girI.
That was my daughter. Keren Tendler. This park is in her memory.
Morris, Rehovot resident First of aII, my condoIences for your Ioss.
The entire nation of IsraeI stands behinds you and the famiIy.
You did a great thing.
We wiII continue what our daughter cannot.
May you never know sadness again. -Thank you.
On August 1 7, 1 97 6, we arrived in IsraeI.
On August 1 6, 2006, was the date of Keren's funeraI.
It's as if... -30 years minus one day.
A year or six months ago, I heard a mother on the radio.
She said, '"We joined the famiIy of the bereaved.''
It reverberated in my head and I said, ''Now we have, as weII."'
Suddenly, you are a fuII-fIedged IsraeIi.
200 percent, not 1 00 percent.
But we couId have been IsraeIis in a different way. Not this way.
"'Where are the words that can best describe
"'Your goIden hair? Your Iight bIue eyes?
This fiIm is aIso dedicated to the memory of Major Nissan ShaIev Captain DanieI Gomez Major Sami Ben-Naim Sgt. Major Ron Mashiach "'The light in your eyes as you Iook at those around you?
who were kiIIed in action aIongside Keren TendIer, of bIessed memory, when their Yasur heIicopter was shot down during the Second Lebanon War. August 1 2, 2006. May their memory be bIessed. "'Like rays of sun shining throughout the worId.
"'Like the scent of the fIower throughout the fieIds.
"'What can we offer?
"'OnIy siIence...'"