26 Years Later, Street Named After Fallen IDF Hero

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December 20, 2024 | י"ט כסלו התשפ"ה

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The city of Kharkiv, has honored the memory of IDF Sergeant Asher Neykov by renaming a street in his honor. Neykov, sacrificed his life to save dozens of Jewish children during a terrorist attack on a school bus in Gush Katif.

In a historic move, the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, has honored the memory of IDF Sergeant Alexey (Asher) Neykov HY”D by renaming a street in his honor. Neykov, a Kharkiv native, sacrificed his life to save dozens of israeli children during a terrorist attack on a school bus in Gush Katif.

The decision was made during a meeting of the local Kharkiv city council, where 367 streets, alleys, and squares were renamed. Mayor Igor Terekhov signed the decision into effect.

On October 29, 1998, Neykov, a then 19-year-old sergeant in the Handasa Kravit Battalion (combat engineering corps) of the IDF, bravely intercepted a car filled with explosives aimed at two school buses carrying 48 Jewish children near the Yishuv Kfar Darom in Gush Katif, Gaza. He, along with other soldiers, shielded the children from the blast, sacrificing his own life in the process.

Alexey Neykov’s name graces the streets, symbolizing his selfless act of heroism. This marks perhaps the first instance globally where a street outside of Eretz Yisroel has been named after a fallen IDF soldier.

Neykov’s roots in Kharkiv run deep. He attended the FJC ‘Or Avner’ Jewish School, founded by the Chief Rabbi and Chabad Shliach Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz. The Yeshiva now located on the street named in Neykov’s honor, also houses a room dedicated to his memory.

The initiative to rename the street was spearheaded by Israeli journalist and historian Shimon Briman, with support from city council deputy Irina Goncharova-Bagaliy and Chief Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz. Alongside Neykov, two other prominent Jews, architects Viktor Estrovich and Alexander Ginzburg, were also honored with street names.

Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz commented on the decision, saying, “It is an honor for our school to be on the street named after a former student who gave his life to save others in the Holy Land. As the Talmud teaches, ‘One who saves one life is as if he saved the entire world.’ Asher, in his heroic short life, is a pride for the whole Jewish nation.