Captain Tzvika Kaplan
Tzvika Kaplan was born in the city of Haifa in the 5th of June 1986, son to Tzila and Yehuda Kaplan, twin to Tzipi and big brother to Elisheva.
As a teenager he dedicated a significant amount of time to the youth movement, where he later became a counselor in Neve Shaman branch, turning chairman of all youth movements in the city of Haifa by the age of 16.
In high school Tzvika started volunteering regularly in an organization called "life line", which is a nonprofit that helps children with disabilities, a routine he continued till he got drafted to the I.D.F.
While an active volunteer in this organization, Tzvika met Adi, whom he later married and fathered 2 children, Elkana and Nadav.
Tzvika and Adi made Kibbutz Meirav, a kibbutz on top of the Gilboa mountain, their home.
Before drafting to the I.D.F Tzvika saw great importance in getting to know the land, and chose to walk the "Israel path" a path that crosses the entire country from south to north, walking 940 kilometers through all landscapes of the land of Israel.
If a need to tell about tzvikas character rises– humble, extreme honesty, a permanent need to excel, personal example caring and a genuine concern for people regardless of who they are, would be just some of the ways to describe Tzvika.
Tzvika was drafted in July of 2006, in the midst of the second Lebanese war. He began his service as a solider in the elite counter terror unit "Sayeret Golani". After finishing his training in the unit, he was chosen for commander's course followed by officers course in which he recived the "brigade leader" honorary title. He returned to the unit and took command of a team of new recruits, molding them into the best that the I.D.F has to offer, leaving them to lead a team of the experienced soldiers of the unit. After this he got his bachelor degree and went to company leaders course, which lead him to his command over a company of the new recruits to the unit.
Tzvika was awarded a place in the prestigious "college of tactical command" of the I.D.F and finished first in his class.
In July 2014 the I.D.F embarked in operation protective edge, to free the citizens of Israel of the nonstop Hammas rocket launching. On the 20th of July Tzvika was killed in combat while serving as commoner of special operation in the Golani special forces brigade. He was 28 years old.