The Kalmanson Family

Elchanan (הי"ד)

Elchanan was born in Jerusalem in December 1981 one of six children to parents
Rabbi Benny and Yochi Kalmanson.

Elchanan became a reserve ofﬁcer and Captain in the Judea and Samaria division of the IDF. He also headed the Otniel rapid-response team and responded to countless terror attacks throughout the years.

Having completed a B.A. in Business Studies, Elchanan tried his hand at the private
sector but quickly decided he’d rather do something more meaningful and after a
very long selection process was accepted into the Mossad. He felt he’d ﬁnally found
his true calling.

Legacy of a True Hero

On the morning of Simchat Torah Elchanan heard about the inﬁltrations.
Without waiting, he grabbed his gun, and together with his brother Menachem
and nephew Itiel, a special forces reserve ofﬁcer, made their way towards the
scene of the ﬁerce battles.

They were greeted by scenes of utter chaos with no clear chain of command.
Elchanan called up one of the local IDF commanders who advised him to head to Beeri.

“Koach Kalmanson ” arrived at the gate of Beeri to scenes of devastation and
bedlam. Elchanan commandeered an IDF armored vehicle and together with
his brother and nephew entered Beeri taking on massive ﬁre and and extracting
residents barricaded in their homes. They repeated this dozens of times non-
stop over a 15-hour period, saving the lives of dozens perhaps even hundreds of civilians and soldiers alike.

After hours of battles they decided to try save the people in the last house.
Elchanan led the team through the front door and immediately took ﬁre from
a terrorist who’d been hiding inside. Menachem returned ﬁre and killed the terrorist
while being injured. Then Menachem and Itiel retrieved Elchanan from the house and
took him to waiting medical teams outside of Beeri.

Elchanan died shortly after despite the best efforts of the
MDA team on the scene.

Life after Elchanan

Elchanan left behind his wife Shlomit and 5 children:
Shai 19, Tal Orot 17, Mevaser 15, Keren Emunah 12, Hod 6.

Israel Award for Civilian Gallantry

Elchanan, Menachem and Itiel received the Israel Award for Civilian Gallantry for 2024.
Amongst the reasons for bestowing the prestigious award upon “Team Elchanan:”
“Menachem Kalmanson, his brother Elchanan (הי”ד) and their nephew Itiel Zohar left
their house in Otniel on Simchat Torah in order to save the lives of the
residents of the Jewish communities in the Gaza envelope. Even though they were initially told that
their services weren’t needed, they came to Beeri and entered time after time in order to
save the residents who’d come under attack, thus saving dozens of lives.”

“For supreme bravery, boundless devotion, and civic action that will serve as an example for generations to come, team members Menachem, Elhanan Hid and
Itiel hereby receive the Israel Award for Civilian Gallantry.”

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