Torah Honoring Beaufort Fallen Reaches Mountain 44 Years Later

Forty-four years after the Battle of Beaufort, a Sefer Torah written in memory of fallen Golani reconnaissance soldiers was brought to the mountaintop in southern Lebanon, where Israeli soldiers opened the scroll and read from it.

The visit came months after IDF troops returned to Beaufort Castle, one of the most iconic sites in Golani Brigade history and a strategically important position overlooking northern Israel. The fortress was captured by Golani soldiers during the First Lebanon War in June 1982.

“Our Torah scroll, written in memory of our friends, is now making its way to Beaufort, where it will be read several times,” said Menachem Goldberg, who initiated the Torah project. Goldberg said the idea to bring the scroll to the mountain came from his son Ido, a Golani reconnaissance soldier.

Golani troops returned to Beaufort at the end of May, 44 years after the original battle. Defense Minister Israel Katz said at the time that “IDF soldiers led by the Golani Brigade returned to the summit and raised the Israeli and Golani flags again.”

During subsequent operations around the Beaufort Ridge, Golani, Maglan and Yahalom troops uncovered an extensive Hezbollah underground complex containing living quarters, kitchens, medical facilities, weapons and other infrastructure. The IDF said the network could accommodate hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists. Much of the system was destroyed in late July using approximately 700 tons of explosives.

The Sefer Torah brought to Beaufort was completed and dedicated in 2020 at a synagogue in Hoshaya. Goldberg organized the project in memory of 13 fallen members and comrades of the August and November 1979 Golani reconnaissance cohorts.

Six of those commemorated were killed during the Battle of Beaufort: Maj. Goni Harnik, Avikam Sharf, Raz Guterman, Yossi Eliel, Yaron Zamir and Gil Ben-Akiva. Others honored by the scroll include Brig. Gen. Erez Gerstein, who fought at Beaufort as a young officer and was killed in Lebanon in 1999.

The Torah was written by Jerusalem scribe Avital Goldner. The names of the fallen were incorporated into its silver decorations, while its ark was constructed from 14 types of wood grown in Israel, 13 representing the fallen Golani soldiers and one commemorating Goldberg’s sister, who died of cancer during her military service shortly after the 1982 war.

The Torah is normally kept in Hoshaya and is regularly used for prayer services.

During the 1982 battle, Harnik was sent to take command after Golani reconnaissance commander Moshe Kaplinsky was seriously wounded. Harnik was lightly injured when his armored personnel carrier overturned on the way to the force, but continued on foot, reorganized the soldiers and led the renewed assault on the fortress. He was killed during the fighting along with five other Israeli soldiers.

This week, the Torah commemorating those soldiers was read on the same mountain where six of them fell. After its time at Beaufort, the scroll is expected to return to its permanent home in Hoshaya.