Jakov or Yaakov Mrvica (, 14 October 1978 11 May 2004) was an Israeli- Serbian military person and a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Biography

He was born on 14 October 1978 in Zemun, a suburb of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, then SR Serbia and

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, as Željko Mrvica (). His father worked in the merchant navy, while his mother Ružica is of Serbian-Jewish descent, and was an architect. He lost his father as a ten-year-old, so he moved with his mother and sister to Novi Sad, where he finished coaching school and was actively involved in various sports, from rowing, basketball, diving, hiking, boxing to judo. He won awards at national and federal judo competitions. He served his military service in the

Armed Forces of Yugoslavia The Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војска Србије и Црне Горе, Vojska Srbije i Crne Gore, ВСЦГ / ''VSCG'') included ground forces with internal and border troops, naval forces, air and air defense ...

and was stationed in Bačka Topola. His mother's Jewish heritage influenced him to move to Israel in February 2002. He first worked as a judo coach and used that time to learn Hebrew, in order to join the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He became a member of the IDF, was given the rank of sergeant and joined the

Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גִּבְעָתִי, , "Hill Brigade" or "Highland Brigade") is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Until 2005, the Brigade used to be stationed within the Gaza Strip and primarily perf ...

. In the army, he met his girlfriend, with whom he planned a marriage and family after leaving the military service. He was killed in the Zeitoun neighborhood of

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...

on 11 May 2004 when his combat vehicle hit a landmine planted by Hamas members. He was buried on 20 May 2004 at the Jewish cemetery in Novi Sad, at the request of his family. His coffin was covered with the flag of Israel, and his funeral was attended by representatives of the Israeli Embassy in

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

, a delegation of the Israeli Defense Forces and two colonels of the Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro. In October 2004, Jakov Mrvica was planning to go the United Kingdom, where he would raise money for a non-profit organization that takes care of Israeli soldiers without families and provides them with accommodation.

Monument and Memory

His girlfriend designed and led a project to erect a monument to Jakov in Israel. The monument was made in the shape of the

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

as a symbol of Jakov Mrvica's connection with Israel and the Jewish people, and it was made of Jerusalem stone, which indicates the love he had for Jerusalem. Pieces of black iron symbolize the horrors of war. Members of the Israeli Defense Forces are visiting this monument as a replacement for his grave in Israel. They visit the monument twice a year - on Yom HaZikaron, as well as on the anniversary of his death. In 2012 movie was made about him

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrvica, Yakov 1978 births People from Zemun People from Novi Sad Israeli people of Serbian-Jewish descent Serbian Jews Jewish military personnel Israeli military personnel killed in action 2004 deaths Landmine victims