Sgt. Lior Vishinsky
May 12, 2004 - Sgt. Lior Vishinsky, 20, of Ramat Gan was one of five IDF soldiers killed when their armored personnel carrier exploded, apparently hit by an anti-tank rocket.
The APC, part of a military convoy traveling on the border road between Egypt and Rafah on the Philadelphi Route, was transporting dozens of kilograms of explosives to be used to detonate weapon-smuggling tunnels along the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, in which five were killed and three wounded.
Lior Vishinsky, son of actor Shlomo Vishinsky of the Cameri Theater and actress Osnat Giladi, completed his studies at the Ort Technical High School in Givatayim. While deeply attached to his parents, who were divorced, he refused to receive any special treatment as the son of celebrities.
Shlomo Vishinsky said that his son volunteered to serve in the Engineering Corps unit responsible for destroying weapons smuggling tunnels in the Rafah area. “Two weeks ago he told me, 'Dad, I’m doing my job so you won’t have any more terror attacks, so they won’t get any more weapons,” he said. Shlomo spoke of the special relationship between Lior and his sister Dana: "He was her best friend. When he came home on leave, he would take her to the movies."
Lior's mother, Osnat, is married to actor Moti Giladi. Before the operation near Rafah, Lior called his mother and told her he was going “to work”, meaning to blow up weapons smuggling tunnels. He would usually call again at the end of the operation, but this time he did not call.
Sgt. Lior Vishinsky was buried in the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery. He is survived by his parents, his sister Dana, 16, and his mother's daughter by her second marriage.