In his support for Israel, Dr. Gene Berkovich backs a variety of causes, sharing them with his extended family and community. Among them is Yatar, a volunteer-driven fleet of ATVs that arose from tragedy to prevent additional loss of life.
“We are a tactical vehicle unit of reservists; we use ATVs for combat roles,” said Zoe Marks, a daughter of olim from England and an active reservist. “We’ve experienced terrorist attacks and hostage attempts. We want to shorten the response time.” As Yatar’s Director of Overseas Operations, she educates diaspora supporters on the organization’s mission.
“Everyone at Yatar is a former combat soldier. Entering Gaza, we had a large number of wounded soldiers and casualties, so we equipped the ATVs for them. A tank would go in and take out a soldier, but it’s very heavy and slow — it’s a target. We can pass through areas that are not easy targets for snipers. At the end of the day, if a soldier gets wounded, the time for survival matters. We evacuated over 260 soldiers, saving all of their lives.”
All of Yatar’s missions are approved and coordinated with the Israeli military, with volunteers operating in Gaza, the Israeli territories, and along international borders. “Regardless of the war, we operate 24/7. Prior to the war, our soldiers worked in shifts. We cooperate with the IDF; nothing is done independently. We are very small — 48 vehicles and 85 soldiers. A typical reservist unit in the IDF has 500 soldiers. We handpick our soldiers. You have to be a specific kind of soldier to ride these vehicles in such circumstances.”
Berkovich’s interest in Yatar relates to his profession as a radiologist, where every second matters in saving lives.
“We became involved with Yatar through our shul. We were on a tour with Yatar for Passover in 2023, before this war,” he said. “We brought our extended relatives, including relatives from Minnesota. They can reach where tanks and Humvees cannot.”
Three of the volunteers who guided the Berkovich family were later killed in this war. “They served at the base in Nahal Oz. One of them was killed on October 7. His name was Ilan Fiorentino.”
A lifelong resident of this kibbutz, the 38-year-old father of three heard the sirens and received a call from Yasmin Zohar, whose young son Ariel was jogging on that fateful morning. Fiorentino found him and took him to a safe room where his wife and children were hiding. Yasmin, her husband Yaniv, and their two daughters, Keshet and Tehelet, were all murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home that day.
Fiorentino did not know their fate as he ran to confront the terrorists. “I’m in battle,” was his final text to his wife, Sharon.
“He lived near the back gate of the kibbutz, from where the first terrorists entered that terrible morning,” retired Gen. Noam Tibon wrote. “He stood alone in front of them and fought while the residents were ordered to lock their houses and hide in armored rooms. It was a hopeless battle — one brave man against dozens of terrorists who broke into the kibbutz. Every moment he managed to delay the terrorists gave another family a chance to save themselves from the inferno.”
Tibon also fought off terrorists in Nahal Oz and was familiar with Fiorentino’s role as the community’s security coordinator. Berkovich noted that Ariel Zohar became a Bar Mitzvah a month before the war, and in turn, this story of heroism inspired his two sons to use their Bar Mitzvah this past January to fundraise for Yatar.
“It really blows your mind to see history in the making and meet the volunteers of Yatar, who spend time away from their families and jobs. They’re protecting all of us,” he said. “We met them again at Nahal Oz and Zikim last January. The visit was coordinated with the army.”
Last month, Yatar’s commitment to a quick and safe rescue included the recovery of the bodies of hostages Ilan Weiss, 56, and Idan Shtivi, 28, during the offensive on Gaza City.
“It takes less than four minutes to get from most places in Gaza to a helipad,” Berkovich said.
The organization’s founder, Col. (Res.) Tzuriel Raviv, is a talmid of the Har Bracha Hesder Yeshiva and served as a tank driver in the Armored Corps. After his service, he continued his studies at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva. In 2016, after the murders of Dafna Meir and Esther Horgen, Raviv teamed up with businessman Geoffrey Rochwarger to create Yatar Israel.
“It hurt his heart to see situations where other teams couldn’t respond quickly enough. Judea and Samaria have difficult terrain — deserts and mountains,” Marks said. “He saw it as a vision, and it’s coming true. All the soldier volunteers are veterans of elite units, bringing their experience to Yatar.”
On his last visit to Israel, Berkovich and his family noted how the volunteers adapted the ATVs for medical needs. “They were remodeled to be able to carry wounded soldiers.”
To learn more about this organization, visit www.yatarisrael.org.
By Sergey Kadinsky