Roi Klein

Roi Klein was born in 1975 in Ra'anana

Klein was born on July 10, 1975, in Ra'anana, where he grew up. His parents, Aharon and Shoshana Klein, were Holocaust survivors. As a teenager he was active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, studied at the Amit high school, and then attended the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli.

He was drafted into the IDF in August 1994 and joined the Paratroopers. His team was moved to the new Egoz Unit of the Golani Brigade. He served in the southern Lebanon security zone and was discharged in August 1998.

After a period of Torah study, he returned to service in the Egoz Unit as a training commander. During the withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, his group of cadets was left behind near Bint Jbeil and was taken out by helicopter. In 2001 he led an ambush near Nablus in which 5 Palestinian militants were killed, and he was commended for it.

In 2002 he married Sarah, and they lived in the Hayovel neighborhood of Eli with their two sons, Gilad and Yoav. He studied industrial engineering and management at the Ariel University Center and graduated with honors. In 2006 he was appointed deputy commander of the Golani Brigade's 51st Battalion.

During the Battle of Bint Jbeil in the 2006 Lebanon War, a grenade was thrown at his force. Klein threw himself on it and was killed on July 26, 2006. He received the Medal of Courage after his death, and schools in Ra'anana and Netanya are named after him.