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about one of the fallen sons,
and I feel as if they’re talking
about my son.”
That’s what he said.
Therefore, in my words
tonight, I, in humble suppli-
cation, ask to return with you
to that same night-time visit
to Mount Herzl, to kindle
candles of remembrance and
tell a few stories, a few, of
some of this year’s fallen.
Each one of them rep-
resents in some way the
eternal figure of all the fallen
of Israel’s wars and hostile
actions against us. Each
one of them — a mirror of
thousands of stories. We
will remember, and love and
cherish in our hearts — all of
them, all of them.
STORIES OF THE FALLEN
“My soldiers are there and
I need to be there,” brigade
commander Col. Yehonatan
Steinberg said to his wife on
the morning of Oct. 7. Yoni,
the commander of the Nahal
Brigade, encountered terror-
ists on his way south. He was
killed fighting courageously
and was buried in the new
section on Mount Herzl.
“The greatest thing one
can do is to protect the
people of Israel,” Yoni left
recorded words for his son.
Right next to him, I see
the grave of Col. Roi Levy,
44, commander of the
Multidimensional Unit. Roi,
who was seriously injured
in Operation Protective
Edge [in 2014], recovered,
returned to combat and
even got engaged on Israel’s
70th Independence Day.
On that black Saturday
morning, he, like Yoni, left
from his home and headed
to Kibbutz Re’im. He fought
against the enemy until he
was shot and killed.
Yoni and Roi are examples
of commanders leading from
the front, like pillars of fire
before the camp. When I saw
their graves side by side, I
could not help but think of
so many heroic command-
ers we lost in Israel’s wars.
Commanders who stormed
the front lines and paid the
terrible price.
And there, not far from
them, lies the grave of Eitan
Hadad, a member of the
pre-military academy from
Kibbutz Be’eri where he grew
up and lived. He is now
also buried on the moun-
tain. I stand there — in the
darkness of the night, in the
heart of the mountain — and
reflect with astonishment
on the long hours of heroic
battles in all the towns and
communities of the western
Negev. Incredible civilian
heroism. About all the mem-
bers of the pre-military acad-
emies. About the command-
ers, lieutenants and ordinary
citizens who leaped into
the heart of battle, with real
courage, and fought — some-
times alone — on the front
line, until the last bullet.
Hundreds fell on Oct. 7
and throughout the entire
campaign. And in the spirit
of the prayer “Unetaneh
Tokef’’ recited on Yom
Kippur — a few days before
the terrible disaster — we
gather on this Memorial Day
to remember all the victims
and fallen — civilians and
soldiers who perished: some
by fire and some by suffo-
JOIN US!
LUNCH & LEARN
EVENT
THURSDAY, JUNE 20TH
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