A 19-year-old American-born Israeli student was killed accidentally at an Israeli military camp while training for a second lieutenant’s commission in the Israeli Army. He was identified as David Eller of Stony Brook. N.Y. the son of Albert Eller, an official of the United Jewish Appeal in New York. Mr. Eller, who arrived in Israel ignorant of his son’s death, told reporters here that young Eller’s commander described the accident as a “one in a million freak.”
According to the father, David went to Israel 10 years ago with his mother Lili, who is divorced, and his older brother Raanan. “David never made a conscious choice between America and Israel. He grew up all-Israeli and it just never occurred to him that he was anything else,” Mr. Eller said. David was studying for a master’s degree in Arabic studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. According to his father, “he dreamed of being Israel’s first Ambassador to Cairo.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
