Israeli tennis stars faced off against Yisrael Beytenu party chairman Avigdor Liberman on Friday afternoon in a friendly match to honor the memory of slain soldier Maj. David Shakuri, who was killed by Hamas sniper fire in the northern Gaza Strip.
The mini-tournament at Jerusalem’s Tennis and Education Center served as an upbeat conclusion to a rather bittersweet memorial service attended by Shakuri’s widow, Daphna, alongside a handful of athletes, Liberman and Jerusalem’s mayor Moshe Lion.
Liberman, an avid tennis player, took the court and held his own against Israel’s top athletes including the legendary tennis duo Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich. Ram, who went up to eulogize Shakuri, wiped a tear from his cheek before beginning his speech before a crowd of dozens gathered on the court in Jerus alem
“Exactly 18 years ago, at David’s bar mitzvah, we played and trained together. Even then it was clear to me that he was a dedicated and exceptional tennis player,” he said. “May his memory be blessed.”
Shakuri was the deputy commander of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, and was killed during an operation in northern Gaza in February. Before he was called up for reserve duty, Shakuri worked as a tennis coach and wanted to teach the sport to his young daughter, Yahli.
“From the moment I met David, I knew tennis was his entire world before he enlisted in the army, I felt compelled to do something meaningful to honor his legacy in the tennis community,” said his widow Daphna. “David was the best father and husband, always dreaming of turning our little girl, Yahli, into a tennis player.”
Although the late soldier resided in Rehovot with his wife and daughter at the time of his death, he grew up in Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood and spent much of his childhood at the tennis center, having taken up the sport at the age of six.
Lion spoke about Shakuri’s ties to the city, mentioning that he was “born and raised in a family deeply rooted in Jerusalem, and our city became an inseparable part of his identity.”
Members of Shakuri’s family, including his widow, then moved to plant a tree in the memorial garden which they erected in his name, adjacent to the tennis club’s courts.
The centerpiece of the memorial garden was a tennis racket encased in glass, with an attached plaque memorializing Shakuri.
“David grew up in the Tennis Center in Jerusalem. He chose to focus on his military career but always wanted to open a tennis club after being discharged,” the plaque read.
“The garden we are dedicating in his name, in a place that felt like a second home to him, will serve as a living and tangible reminder of him — and his memory will always stay with us,” said Lion.
After the family planted the tree, participants moved to the courts to begin a round of tennis matches in the slain soldier’s memory.
Later on in the afternoon, Daphna Shakuri tried her hand at the sport, managing to score a few points against Erlich, a veteran player.
Since the ground offensive against Hamas and amid operations along the Gaza border, 316 troops have been killed. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in the Strip.