April 29, 1956
Ro’i Rothberg, a member of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, is killed while patrolling the kibbutz’s fields near the Israeli border with Gaza. Rothberg, serving as the kibbutz’s security officer, goes out on horseback to investigate the sighting of a group of Arabs harvesting the kibbutz’s crops. This is a frequent occurrence, as noted in Rothberg’s logbook, which documents incidents of Arabs harvesting the crops, stealing equipment and firing on kibbutz members. Just a few days before his death, Rothberg “caught four infiltrators in our fields, beat them up and drove them across the ditch.” (Benny Morris, “Beyond the Gates of Gaza,” The Jerusalem Post, June 30, 1989, Page A11.)
As Rothberg approaches the infiltrators, they disappear across the border, and, in a planned ambush, a group of armed men takes their place. Rothberg is shot, and his body is dragged across the border into Gaza. His mutilated body is returned to Israel that afternoon by the Israel-Egypt Mixed Armistice Commission. The murder comes during a period of heightened activity along the Israel-Gaza border. Gaza, under Egyptian control, is a hotbed for launching attacks against Israel.
The enduring legacy of Rothberg’s murder is the eulogy delivered at his funeral the following day by IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan. Amid growing skirmishes in the area, Dayan visited Nahal Oz a few days before the killing for a tour of the kibbutz and the security situation. Rothberg was his guide and made a strong impression on Dayan and his bureau chief, Lt. Col. Mordechai Bar-On. The eulogy is broadcast nationally on the radio. Dayan becomes one of the first Israeli leaders to address the roots of Palestinian anger toward Israel while reminding Israelis that they must remain vigilant about the threats surrounding them.