Remembering Roy Bareket

By Maya Kaye

“He would always take me to play basketball and soccer with him. He was super into sports and he got me into liking Maccabbee Tel Aviv … which also helped me get to know his friends and other people in Israel.”

Balaban spoke about Roy’s ability to always be at the center of attention, as well as his unrelenting kindness and care as well. He described how at family gatherings, Roy was always helping his grandparents and younger siblings with anything they needed. 

“He was a family man.”

Roy was drafted to the Golani unit of the military in 2022. He quickly found that his background was much different than other soldiers in his unit. While Roy was from Tel Aviv, most of the people around him came from Orthodox communities. Despite their differences, Roy befriended everyone he shared his service with.  

“Roy was a סתלבטן  (stalbeitan), someone who could poke fun at anything. That was the word people would always use to talk about him.”

Roy was stationed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a community near the border with Gaza. On October 7th, 2023, Roy found himself among fifteen soldiers against hundreds of Hamas terrorists. Roy and the soldiers used an armored vehicle to protect the kibbutz, until it stopped working. Then, they all ran by foot to the base, where there were many soldiers without guns. Roy and other combat soldiers were able to get many of them out alive. They fought for hours on end.

In this battle, Roy lost his life. 

The communities that love Roy have been doing everything they can to honor his story.

“Roy was in the tzofim, the scouts, and had a pretty big role there. Everyone knew him there. So whenever I talk to someone from North Tel Aviv, they know him from either that or from school. They have a lot of events there, like soccer tournaments and runs, in memory of him. They’ve also made shirts with his name and face on it . . . it’s really cool to see people who didn’t even know him heard his story and were touched enough to come [to these events] wearing his shirt.” 

Balaban also spoke about his wide network of friends that continue to show up in his memory. 

“After he passed, they would come to be with the family. [There were people at Roy’s home] every day for a month. It became a tradition that every Friday, even now, they’re still doing it. Every Friday they’re with Roy’s parents and siblings, sitting at the house, drinking beers, talking. Friends from the army, friends from home, friends from other places, became friends from these mornings together. It’s crazy that [Roey] moved so many people. Three years later, not only are they coming to the house every Friday, they are also doing new things together in memory of him.”

Roy was a jokester, an athlete, and a soldier. A cousin, a brother, a son, a grandson, and a friend. No matter what role he was fulfilling, he had a special ability to make people feel at home in his presence. May his memory be a blessing. 

Follow @remember.roy.bareket on Instagram to see how his loved ones are honoring his life.