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Golani Commander (res.) Yoav Yarom was moderately wounded yesterday (Wednesday) in battle with terrorists in southern Lebanon – in the same incident in which scholar of the Land of Israel, Ze'ev (Jabo) Erlich, was killed.
This is not Yarom's first injury in Lebanon. During an operational activity in southern Lebanon in December 1993, near the Karkom post in the security zone, Yarom was injured by a mine and lost his leg.
After a period of rehabilitation, he insisted on returning to service in his elite unit and successfully passed the Bar-Or exam, which includes a 2,000-meter run. He returned with a prosthesis to the unit and was appointed weapons officer.
About eight years later, in June 2002, during military activity in the village of Tubas in Samaria, Yarom was wounded by two bullets in the abdomen, while trying to rescue a soldier who had been wounded by gunfire. He told his soldiers to wait behind him, so as not to endanger them.
In May 2012 he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Samaria Brigade. During his reserve service, he has been serving as the head of staff of the Golani Brigade.
A preliminary IDF investigation shows that a force under Yarom's command entered the area where the Golani Brigade was operating. The force reached an ancient fortress that is considered an archaeological site. Two terrorists hid there and opened fire on them, killing Jabo. Yarom was moderately wounded in the battle.
Erlich, a 71-year-old resident of Ofra, was a researcher of the Land of Israel and one of the founders of a field school in his village. He has published dozens of studies on the land of Israel and lectured at the Lander Institute and Moreshet Yaakov-Orot Israel College.
At the same time, he documented ancient sites in Arab villages in Judea and Samaria. He served as an infantry officer and intelligence officer during the first intifada.