Niot, son to Ilana and Haim Watzman and brother to Mizmor, Asor, and Misgav, was born on Jan. 24, 1991 (9 Shevat 5751) at Kibbutz Tirat Zvi and grew up in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood. He attended Dror High School and spent a year at the Keshet Yehuda pre-army program.

Niot faced a number of challenges in his life, among them learning disabilities. Despite the difficulties and frustrations this caused him, he persevered and overcame them. In doing so he found self-confidence and joy in who he was, and these gave him an exceptional ability to understand other people’s inner lives. He was a joyful and funny person. At home, in school, and among his friends in his pre-army program and army unit, he was the “glue,” the one who knew how to attach people to each other and to teach them to understand one another. Unlike many young men of his age, he did not hesitate to express his feelings, which were mostly of love and empathy, and knew how to elicit such expressions of emotion from others.

After completing the pre-army program, in August 2010, he enlisted in Battallion 13 of the Golani Brigade. He was a devoted and conscientious soldier who did much to help his buddies, especially the unit’s “lone soldiers,” those who had come from overseas to serve in the IDF and had no families in Israel. After completing his training he was sent home on sick leave to have a small operation and to seek treatment for knee pains. During Pesach 2011 he went with three friends to engage in one of his hobbies—scuba diving in Eilat. On Thursday, April 28 (24 Nissan) an accident took place during a dive and he was mortally injured. He died on Saturday, April 30 (26 Nissan) at the age of twenty.

On these pages you will find pictures, stories, memories, and eulogies that tell about Niot’s special qualities, achievements, and his devotion as a son, brother, friend, and soldier. You will also find information on the projects the family and community are carrying on in his memory.
To commemorate Niot’s special personality and to continue to provide the help and care he worked so hard to grant in his life, his family and friends are now working to set up a project to provide help to students with learning disabilities. We’re working on this with the Association for the Advancement of Education, the organization that runs Niot’s high school, Dror, and a number of other schools in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel. We’ll be posting details about the program shortly.

Contributions to the project may be made in two ways:
1. Send a check made out to “Kehilat Yedidya,” the Watzman family’s synagogue, which will keep the donations in trust until the projects are set up. Donors in this way will receive a receipt granting them a valid Israeli tax deduction. Please send checks (designated “for deposit only” to

Dorit Meijrs
4 Tzedkiyau St.
Baka
Jerusalem 93471

Along with a letter specifying that the donation is in Niot’s memory.

2. Donors who wish to receive a valid IRS tax deduction may send checks (in U.S. dollars) to

Hebrew Educational Alliance
3600 S. Ivanhoe St.
Denver, Colorado 80237
USA

Along with a cover letter specifying that the donation is for the Niot Watzman memorial fund.