Off-duty elite-unit IDF soldiers Achikam Amichai and David Rubin were laid to rest after the Sabbath. The two were killed in a gun battle after being ambushed by terrorists while on a nature hike with a friend. The two managed to kill two of the terrorists and save the life of their friend. Their funeral was heart-rending yet inspiring.

The area where the young men were hiking when they were attacked.

(Photo: Flash 90)
The bodies of the slain men set out from Kiryat Arba.

(Photo: Flash 90)
Residents of Neve Daniel, in Gush Etzion, stand along the Jerusalem-Hevron Highway to pay their respects.

Residents of Efrat, in Gush Etzion, stand along the Jerusalem-Hevron Highway to pay their respects.



Four levels of standing room on Mt. Herzl fill up an hour before the funeral even begins.

The military coffins, draped with an Israeli flag and a tallit (prayer shawl), are carried by the soldiers' comrades.

 
Fellow soldiers carry their fallen brothers.





Rabbi Avichai Ronsky, Chief Rabbi of the IDF

 










 






People stand around the graves for hours after the funeral is over, crying, praying, reciting Psalms and ruminating over the tragedy and the heroism of the two men.



People continue to arrive into the night

Amichai's siblings weep for their brother at his grave.

(Photos: Ezra HaLevi - except where otherwise noted)