Yonatan, Life Story Yonatan was only twenty-seven when he died. He was also born prematurely. When his mother Dalia was in the final months of pregnancy with Yonatan, she was diagnosed with acute diabetes, which necessitated inducing an early birth. So although Yonatan, brother to Ronna and Nadav, saw the light of day at the beginning of the ninth month, this event didn't affect his size. His pediatrician (at "Tipat Halav") was very impressed by his height, and stubbornly and frequently insisted that "he'll be a basketball player". But as the years passed, it became clear that sports wasn't Yoni's strong point (except for his fierce desire to become a race car driver some day…). The only problem was his loud and intense screaming. Maybe it was his way of protesting his early entrance into the cruel world. But, even at this tender age his special ability to adjust to reality and adapt himself to new situations was evident, since suddenly one day he clearly changed his mind, and became the easiest child around. It was already then that his special disarming smile became his trademark for the rest of his life, charming everyone who got to know him. "He had a sort of magnetism that drew people to him, striking up immediate relationships," said his manager at CheckPoint, where Yonatan worked (on behalf of Ness) in the months before his illness was first discovered. During his army service in Military Intelligence as well, everyone around him recognized his special qualities, both in the professional area (computer applications) and in his appealing personality. So much so that when he completed his military service, he received job offers from all the civilian companies that he had a working relationship with as a soldier. His favorite hobbies were driving and traveling, in Israel and overseas. In recent years he had "locked in" on jeeps, and on the last day of his life, he was supposed to take delivery of a jeep that he had purchased. He was an expert on cars. Even as a child, from the lofty heights of the fourth floor, Yonatan could accurately identify cars that passed in the street merely by the sound of their engines. So it was only natural that over the years, when we or any of his friends would be buying a car, he was our authorized expert. Not infrequently, the showroom salespersons would offer him a job on the spot. Another hobby was lengthy telephone conversations with his friends (very many). He would usually conclude his calls with, "so my people will speak to your people". He received the news of his illness with characteristic calmness. Since then, throughout the long months of difficult treatments in Israel and the U.S., Yoni- aware of his very serious condition - remained solid and unperturbed, and never lost his marvelous sense of humor. When he was visited at the Tel Hashomer Hospital by his two former girlfriends, he said, "Does a man have to get cancer for the two of you to meet…" No less than eight of his Israeli friends took the long journey to visit him in the Los Angeles hospital. Among them was a friend who made the trip so that Yoni could meet and approve of his new girlfriend. Today they are married… When a doctor at Tel Hashomer told him that he had contacted fungal pneumonia, Yoni, aware that his natural immune system was failing due to the treatments, knew what this meant. He looked at his father and said in his broken Yiddish, "Mentsch tracht un Got lacht". Man proposes and God disposes… Dad