Bereaved mothers of soldiers Max Steinberg and Elhai Taharlev met today at the Har Herzl military cemetery on Memorial Day.
“I just felt that I wanted to come and give her a hug, because she’s in the first three weeks only [since her son’s death] and I’m already...it’s never easy,” Max Steinberg’s mother Evie said of her meeting with Elhai’s mother, Avital.
Evie said that she is trying to make the best of the present to do good.
“Therefore I’m working with organizations in America to create an awareness of what’s going on in Israel, to tell the true story. And of course close to my heart are the lone soldiers.”
She said that although the transition from Memorial Day to Independence Day cannot be a completely happy one on a personal level in light of her son’s death, she said, “I’m happy and I’m proud, and I know that he died for a reason, for this country to be independent and to protect the land and the people. So for that, I’m happy.”
Max Steinberg made aliyah from Los Angeles, California, and moved to Be'er Sheva. He joined the military on 2012, after completing his college studies. He was killed in action during Operation Protective Edge.