Thousands reportedly attended the July 7 funeral of Israel Defense Forces Staff Sgt. Shilo Yosef Amir, 22, who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist on Thursday near the Jewish community of Kedumim.

“My heart refuses to believe. It has been shattered to pieces,” said Amir’s mother in the eulogy, wrote Israeli media. “You taught us what love is. You understood your mission and you stuck with it. Nothing will ever be the same again.”

Amir was buried in Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem next to IDF commando Chief Sgt. David Yehuda Yitzchak, who was killed earlier in the week as Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin.

“Two more families with empty chairs at their Shabbat tables tonight,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the IDF in a tweet. 

“The fallen soldier was always the first to volunteer and fight. “You were a man of truth, loved by your friends,” said Lt. Col. Ziv Boanish, who commands the Givati Brigade unit in which Amir served.

“You dealt with challenges with great humility, and yesterday, although you could have gone home, you chose to join an operation to fulfill our goal,” he added in the eulogy, per Israeli media.

“We sleep comfortable in Jerusalem and can celebrate Shabbat in the holy city because of their and their families’ sacrifice,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander—former longtime rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue, and president and rosh yeshivah of Ohr Torah Stone—about both Amir and Yitzchak in a tweet.

Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate

Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager