Biography of
Yehuda Katz
"Yehuda, come home quickly, for we are growing old."
( Yosef Katz, father of MIA Yehuda, quoted in Laisha,
September 18, 1994.)
In June 1982 those dreams were displaced by the nightmare of Sultan
Yaqub. With the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon, Yehuda joined
his friends in Lebanon. He was sent into battle at Sultan Yaqub just
10 days before his scheduled release from the army. It would be at the
abortive battle at Sultan Yaqub that Yehuda's religious conviction and
leadership capabilities would come to the fore one last time, before
he would go missing along with his colleagues Zachary Baumel and
Tzvi Feldman. In a situation permeated with fear and apprehension,
Yehuda gathered and addressed his friends on several occasions.
He drew on his extensive knowledge of Jewish legal and ethical
writings, and spoke of the proper ethical and emotional qualities
demanded by Jewish law of a Jewish soldier.
He successfully managed to strengthen the resolve and calm the fears
of his fellow soldiers, many of whom had never before experienced
battle.
Three years later, Chezi Shai, an Israeli soldier captured at
Sultan Yaqub by forces loyal to Achmed Jibril's PFLP, was returned
to Israel in a prisoner exchange. Upon his return, Shai reported
that he overheard his captors talking about other Israeli prisoners
and heard Yehuda's name mentioned. Over the years the Katz family
has pursued every iota of information regarding Yehuda, never
forsaking the belief that he would come back to them.
Grounded in this conviction, his sister Pirchia named her son
Yochai -- a shortened version of Yo (short for Yehuda) -- chai (lives).
Yehuda also continues to be remembered in the hearts and minds of
the student body at Kerem Be'yavne -- since Yehuda's disappearance
a daily prayer has been offered on his behalf by succeeding
generations of students at the yeshiva.
Yehuda's locker at Kerem Be'yavne still bears his name, and has not
been touched since his disappearance.
*yeshiva is a Hebrew word referring to an institution for classical Jewish religious study