In memory of Major Roey Chapell z"l
Remembering him with meals
Among Roey’s great loves, good food and alcohol held a special place in his life.
“Fat Actual (Commander)” - i.e. Kodkod Shamen
After his passing, the meat chain “Ruben” rallied to create and add a new dish to the restaurant’s menu.
The dish, in Roey’s memory, was developed in collaboration with his family and based on the bold, dominant flavors he loved — a rich dish full of goodness.
When Roey left Jenin after Operation “Beit Vagan” in July 2023, he requested from the battalion commander over the radio:
“A hamburger… with foie gras on top, medium please,”
and the commander replied, “Actual *** here Actual ***, we’ll rename it for you as ‘Fat Actual.’”
Based on this recording, the dish was named in his honor.
“Kodkod Shamen” (photo: Ruben’s Facebook page)
“Kodkod Shamen” contains a 225-gram patty topped with a duck breast called “duck schnitzel” on the menu, sautéed cabbage and onions, egg salad, red onion, and arugula leaves. To complete the extravagance, the dish also includes mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, spicy sriracha, and barbecue sauce.
Roey's platoon
In August 2024, a new cadet company opened at the Military Boarding School of the Reali School in Haifa.
The company commander, Gil Zisman, is from Roey’s recruitment cycle.
Gil chose to name the new company after Roey, with Roey’s values guiding the cadets.
Upon the opening of the new company, Brigadier General (res.) Eran Makov, who was serving as commander of the Military Boarding School in Haifa at the time, wrote to Orith, Roey’s mother:
“Dear Orith,
More than 35 years ago, we met at the Pardes Hanna Agricultural School.
You were the flower girl from Zikhron Ya’akov and I was a bit of a nerd from Binyamina—two popular eighth graders. I never imagined then that we would meet again in such a complex and difficult reality.
It all began less than a year ago, on that terrible Sabbath when I heard about the death of Orev commander, Lieutenant Colonel Roey Chapell, your dear son.
I met him about a year before; he invited me to speak with the company. He asked me—both as commander of the boarding school where he was educated and as a former Orev company commander—to come speak with the company. I met a captivating young man, full of charm, who you couldn’t help but love at first sight. I only realized he was your son when I came to offer condolences during shiva.
I remember that in one of our conversations, he challenged me with a question about education in the boarding school during the difficult reality after October 7. In a divided country struggling to rise, heal, and unify—what and how do we tell the youth today? I admit that this question remains before me, still full of question marks more than exclamation points.
About a month later, my youngest son informed me that he wanted to apply and join the military boarding school.
Now I have to seek an answer not only as the commander of the boarding school but also as a parent.
Since then, I have chosen to focus on internal repair, trying to define the problem and the solution for myself and those under my command. I prefer to look inward and downward and try to fix things. Probably because seeing these special youth, who give and fill, brings a much better and more encouraging feeling than searching for solutions from above.
Eleven months have passed; my youngest son Yoav passed the selection process (no favors) and was accepted into the boarding school.
I decided to let Gil Zisman, an alumnus of Alon company and recently a platoon commander in Nahal, open and lead the company. He decided to name the company ‘Roey,’ both in the spirit of the shepherd who leads the flock and especially in memory of your heroic and special son.
And here I think to myself, my son is in the military command boarding school in Haifa, under my command, following in Roey’s footsteps—your son—and in the company named after him.
Dear Orith, I thank you for the privilege and embrace your pain, without remedy.
I still carry the question marks, but now I hope the answer will emerge from this generation that is still willing, volunteering, and ready to carry the stretcher and do so with faith, humility, calm, and certainty.”
Liam Hachmon & Liel Nahtom – My Neighborhood
In memory of Lieutenant Colonel Roey Chapell, of blessed memory
Commemoration in Nature
A Charming Corner in the Moshav Even Shmuel
During the fighting after the October 7 attack, the Orev unit from the November ’16 cycle (Roey’s recruitment cycle) stayed in Moshav Even Shmuel whenever they briefly left the fighting in Gaza. The local residents provided them with food, laundry, lodging, and supplies.
As a token of gratitude for the residents’ great help, the reservists donated a charming corner in memory of Roey to the moshav.
Location: HaRimon Street, Even Shmuel. West of the community center.
