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July 23, 2006
IDF lays its fallen to rest
By Jerusalem Post staff
Israel laid four soldiers and one pilot to rest on Friday
Maj. Benjy Hillman, 27, was not married long enough to go on his honeymoon in Thailand. He was one of five soldiers killed in action on Thursday in Maroun al-Ras.
Hillman’s family immigrated to Israel in the early 1980s from England. He was married just three weeks ago and had yet to move into the apartment that he and his wife had bought in Modi’in.
One of Hillman’s new relatives on his wife’s side told Israel Radio that Hillman was a gentle person, "One out of tens of thousands.‘ The relative said Hillman had been ’dedicated to those around him, to his soldiers and his family."
A company commander in the Egoz unit, he was buried in his home city of Ra’anana on Friday.
Four other soldiers were buried on Friday as well.
A second victim of that battle, St.-Sgt. Rafenael Muscal, 21, was buried in his hometown of Mazkeret Batya.
Israel Radio reported that two days before his death, he sent a message to his brother urging his family not to worry. "We are in our own territory," he wrote. Muscal was survived by his parents, two sisters and a brother.
St.-Sgt. Nadav Baluah, 21, from Karmiel was buried there at 2 p.m. Israel Radio reported that although not originally deemed fit to serve in a combat unit, he had insisted on joining the prestigious Egoz unit so as not to be "a draft-dodger." When he told his mother that he had been accepted to the Egoz, she reportedly collapsed, fearing for her son.
St.-Sgt. Liran Sa’adiya, 21, from Kiryat Shmona, who has yet to be buried, was also killed in that battle.
Also on Friday, St.-Sgt. Yotam Gilboa, 21, was laid to rest in his hometown of Maoz Haim. Gilboa was killed on Wednesday in a cross-border firefight with Hizbullah near Moshav Avivim.
IAF pilot Maj. Ran Kochva, 37, from Beit Hananya, was killed in Thursday night’s helicopter accident near Moshav Ramot Naftali in the northern Galilee. His funeral took place at 3 p.m. Friday at Givat Shaul in Jerusalem. The accident occurred when two helicopters collided on their way to an operation in Lebanon.
A father’s eulogy for a slain soldier
By STEWART WEISS
It was, as they say, deja vu all over again. Standing in the military cemetery in Ra’anana, at the first funeral for a local soldier killed in combat since our own son fell nearly four years ago, I watched in awe and horror as another hero of the Jewish people was laid to rest.
Benjy Hillman, 27, a commander in the elite Egoz Battalion, had been killed in Lebanon on Thursday night in a skirmish with Hizbullah.
Along with his parents, sister, brother and grandmother, Benjy was escorted to his final resting place by his bride Ayala. Just three weeks ago, they had stood under the huppa, long-time friends proclaiming their eternal devotion for one another. They had been brought together from different sides of the world — Ayala from Argentina, Benjy from England — in a fairy tale of two olim who met, fell in love and married in Israel.
But this war — forced upon us by cruel enemies whose hatred knows no bounds — had torn the couple asunder. Many of those in attendance had danced at the wedding; now they stood in shocked silence, the magnitude of the tragedy almost too much to absorb.
One of the questions on many people’s minds — "Why couldn’t Benjy take more time to be with his new wife?" — was answered by one of his close friends.
"Benjy felt a deep responsibility to his soldiers and didn’t want to leave them in their hour of need. And he knew the charge of the Mishna, ’In time of war, everyone goes out to battle; even the bridegroom must leave his bridal canopy.’
"For Benjy, the nation took precedence over all other considerations."
Benjy and my son Ari attended the same yeshiva, Midreshet Noam in Pardess Hanna. When Ari was killed, Benjy came to the funeral and then to the shiva, where he presented us with a letter. In it he spoke of what it meant to be a combat soldier, of the total commitment that a soldier in the field must have, of the untold sacrifices, large and small, that he must make - sacrifices that the public at large will never know.
He told us that Ari was a hero, in life and in death, and that we should be comforted by the honor he had brought to the country. "The righteous, even in death, are still alive," he wrote. Benjy promised that he would carry on the fight for Israel’s safety and security.
Benjy distinguished himself and his family with a courage and character that is a model for every young man — religious or secular, native born or immigrant — to emulate. His death is a source of deep anguish and pain, but his life is a testament to the virtue and honor that a human being can attain if he is prepared to give totally of himself.
As the memorial prayer was chanted for Benjy, I turned my eyes to the heavens. I saw Ari greet Benjy and escort him to a place of honor. Two boys from Ra’anana, forever young, who will forever be remembered as the best Israel can be.
In Memoriam
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