Guy Boyland, our thoughts are with your family

Taupo is a stunningly beautiful place, peaceful, relaxed., This is where Staff Sergeant Guy Boyland, a combat engineer of the Israeli 7th Armoured Brigade was born. He died, age 21 in Gaza. He was investigating a tunnel when he was killed; he had stabilized some booby traps before being attacked from behind. He was just one of more than forty Israeli soldiers killed in the current conflict. Each of these deaths is a tragedy. Perhaps Gus shouldn't have been there at all. His mother is an Israeli. She met her husband, a New Zealander, and they could have lived a peaceful happy life in Taupo. They didn't move to Israel because of the hard life of Jews in New Zealand, nor did they move there because they were ardent Zionists. They moved there to support Guy's ailing grandparents.They stayed because they liked the kibbutz life style, but they planned to return to New Zealand before the children had to go into the army. In the end the pull of Israel and the army proved stronger than the longing for a safe life. We can only grieve for the loss of a life full of promise, and wish to share our thoughts with Guy's family.