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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-

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