IDF Widow Buries Her Husband: ‘The Angels Are Waiting for You’ (VIDEO)
by Dave Bender
Thousands of Israelis on Monday attended the funeral of an IDF Golani infantry commander killed a day earlier in fierce fighting with Hamas in northern Gaza’s Shuja’iya neighborhood.
“Tzvika, my dear husband, my incredible home – was you,” Adi said at his graveside.
“From within this home we succeeded in raising a wonderful family – Elkana and Nadav, whom you loved so. There was nothing more important in your world,” she said. “You raised them so well.”
“I’m certain you are now ascending to a more magical place, and are at peace and composed,” she said. “The angels are waiting for you.”
“My Tzvika, you were such a man of truth, modesty, and faith. One of the righteous ones,” she said.
Also on Monday, fervent fans of the Maccabi Haifa basketball club posted an urgent request on their Facebook page. They called on club members to attend the funeral of fan and US immigrant IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21.
Carmeli, along with Kaplan, was among the 18 soldiers and officers killed in fighting on Saturday and Sunday. The team fans feared that since Carmeli was an immigrant soldier, few would attend his funeral.
Carmeli had moved to Ra’anana from South Padre Island (population 2800, Jewish population 75), where his family moved from Israel over twenty years ago. His parents are Alon and Dalya Carmeli.
“The whole community feels like they lost their own son,” Rabbi Yonatan, the family’s rabbi told The Algemeiner on Sunday. “The family is completely devastated,” Rabbi Asher Hecht, another rabbi and friend said.
“We are in a very bad situation here,” Yonatan said. “It was very hard for everybody.”
Both rabbis had just accompanied Sean’s parents to the airport for their flight to Israel to bury their son.
Sean was the youngest of three children, and with two older sisters, Gal and Or, was an only son. All family members are American citizens.