HaGAL INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL HAM NEWS

by Ahron Kirschner 4X1AT and Ron Gang 4X1MK

November 1998

MORE FRIENDS REMEMBER ARIEL ROTH 4X1MR S.K.

As always, the moment a dear friend has departed, friends start to remembers his many virtues we actually did not appreciate enough while he still was among us. The stream of letters to me of Radio Amateurs who remember our friend Ariel 4X1MR hasn’t stopped. Ariel always extended a helping hand. In memory of his good friend Yechiel Yeluz 4X4BT, he built and serviced for many years a Beacon on VHF with Yechiel’s call. We the members of the Israel Amateur Radio Club’ will try to remember Ariel, as suggested by Gabriel 4X4KU, by adding Ariel’s callsign to that beacon as well. This issue has been printed for us by Meir Raz 4X1NX. The task was to add a picture of Ariel into this issue. I would like at, this instant, to thank Meir for his efforts. (Ahron 4X1AT)

Arik, 4Z4FI, wrote this letter: It all began, I assume in one of our many VHF QSOs on the Tel-Aviv Repeater, "FI, what do you know about antenna towers? ..." or maybe "FI, what do you think of building an antenna tower? ..." I don't remember of course what my exact answer was, but I am sure that I had no idea what sort of "trouble" I was running into. I only later learned to know that Ariel's way of studying a subject starts with an endless list of questions. everything had to be thorough and always researched in all possible aspects. Together with Meir 4X4NX a "team" was established "for the mission". It began with an endless collecting of catalogs and data. Hours of studying the subject. on weekends we traveled with our families all over the country and in a curious way the trip always ended under an "interesting" tower, at one of the amateur's homes. The data was collected, the technical details were cleared and we were on our way to produce 3 four-stage telescopic towers. As a matter of fact, it was not only a production, it was an "happening". For months the team got together at my backyard. It looked as if we were working very hard, but to tell you the truth, we enjoyed every moment. Our "club" had a unique atmosphere, Meir - the serious member, Ariel - having his very special humor. All three of us hidden behind the welding masks created that atmosphere. Our families joined us from time to time, and many amateur colleges had to see the wonder of the three crazy guys. many were doubtful of our success. The impossible happened! Three impressive glittering towers (20m high) stood proudly near our homes. Our success was often celebrated among our families, and most important, we came to be very close. At my last visit to Ariel he took me to see "the tower" (as if I've never seen it before), he touched the tower and proudly said: "look how this wonderful tower supports the house!..." I loved Ariel's cynical humor and even though it seems a paradoxes, his humor was loving and human. He was a man of principles, but the most he demanded of himself. nothing could stand in his way, once decided, he did what he wanted with patience and determination. I will never forget the sentence in Hebrew he quoted frequently:, "ùáò éôåì öãé÷ å÷í" which means: seven times a righteous will fall and back on his legs. This time Ariel didn't ... We all lost a friend. (4Z4FI Arik Cohen)

Gabriel, 4X4KU expressed his sorrow: Passing away of Ariel Roth “in memoriam": 4X1MR On the eve of ‘Rosh Hashana’, the Jewish New Year’s celebration, the highly skilled electronician Ariel departed this life prematurely. Born in Netanya, 55 years ago, he lived there until his last day. Deeply rooted in the country, his brilliant mind found out a lot of solutions to top secret problems and, consequently, was awarded the highest Israeli Sicurity’s Prize in 1986. Though a renown engineer among his colleagues, he always remained modest and helpful both on the air and in daily life. May your spirit inspire us most regretted friend. (Gabrie lAbramovitch 4X4KU)