The scene was no less than idyllic. Warm sunshine and a gentle breeze graced the lush green carpet of grass and swaying trees. Hundreds of young adults wearing brightly colored berets mingled together with T-shirt and sandal-clad friends. It could have been a picnic.
It should have been a picnic, but it was not.
The gathering was a full military funeral for Eitan Newman. Eitan was one of the IDF soldiers killed in battle in the Gaza Strip last week. Although he died on Tuesday morning, his funeral was delayed several days while the IDF continued to search for various body parts taken as "war booty" by the local Arab residents. The gaily colored berets were worn by members of his Givati brigade, neighborhood friends serving in the tank, engineering and paratroopers corps. The T-shirts were worn by fellow students at the preparatory yeshiva he attended. The sandal-clad young women - friends who served with him as counselors in the Bnei Akiva youth movement.
I was one of the thousand or so participants attending the funeral to pay last respects. I should qualify, however, that I was not a detached bystander. Eitan Newman was my neighbor.
The son of dear friends of my family, Eitan was instrumental in introducing me to the local pre-Lag B'Omer wood-gathering custom. Week after week, Eitan's pile grew outside my bedroom window. I remember asking him what he was doing ? as a recent immigrant I had not yet been exposed to the Lag B'Omer mentality. (Eitan tried to convince me that he was building me a Jacuzzi!) When his prized log was stolen, he was heartbroken, but remained undeterred in his quest to build an unforgettable bonfire.
One of the sad, yet salient facts of warfare is that soldiers die in battle. The establishment of the modern State of Israel mitigated the creation of a professional army. Here in Israel, our army is peopled, for the most part, by conscripts between the ages of 18 and 21. These young men and women represent all that is good about our country. In the prime of their lives, they devote themselves to the security needs of the general populace. They are our sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, our neighbors and our classmates. And because we do not live in a utopian world, our soldiers are called upon, day in and day out. Sometimes, they are called upon to give the ultimate sacrifice ? that of their lives.
In an interview with several news outlets, Eitan's mother, Sara, spoke passionately about her son: "Eitan knew that he had to do what had to be done. He knew that you do what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it." Sara continued, "He loved to help people. A woman from our community told us that if Eitan was on the same bus as she, he would not let her carry her grocery packages to her home. He would carry them all the way to her home, which was some distance away. Eitan was a calming influence on his family and friends."
One wonders if the stoicism exhibited by the Newmans in the face of their terrible loss will be internalized by the nominal leadership in Israel, as well as by the much-touted fashioners of "world opinion".
We often hear, ad nauseum, the reprise, "Israel certainly has the right to defend its people." The statement that the defense of its people is Israel's right is patently false. It is not a right. It is a responsibility. A right is something that can be ascribed to voting, acquiring a driver's license or a building permit. A right, in other words, is optional. You can choose whether or not to exercise your right.
However, Israel, meaning its leadership, has a responsibility to defend its people. It is not a matter of choice. You can not shy away from responsibility. Further, citizens must demand that their political leaders fulfill their obligation. The political hot potato that is the "settlements" in Gaza, or for that matter, the entire Zionist enterprise in the Land of Israel, is of no relevance to the responsibility of defending the people of Israel. The State of Israel was founded upon the ashes of millions of Jews who were killed during the course of the previous two millennia. They were killed because we, the Jewish people, had no place to call home and therefore no home to defend.
Our soldiers, our sons and friends serving in the Israel Defense Forces, are sent on a multitude of missions in defense of our citizenry. They are sent to root out the terrorist infrastructure that exists in Gaza, Judea, Samaria and unfortunately, in a multitude of other locales both near and far.
Despite what some political opportunists say when our boys fall in battle, they have not died in vain. Their inspirational lives become stories that serve as fodder for the next generation of young men and women who know that the defense of the Jewish nation rests on their shoulders. It is a burden they carry on behalf of Jews throughout the world. They seem to take their responsibility seriously. We can only pray that politicians would be as focused on their responsibilities as our young soldiers are on theirs.
When asked by friends in the Diaspora what they can do to help, Sara Newman responds, "Go out and buy products made in Israel. That should be your obligation."
Not too much to ask in return for giving us all the gift of life.
And Eitan, don't worry, next year's bonfire is going to be the biggest by far!
It should have been a picnic, but it was not.
The gathering was a full military funeral for Eitan Newman. Eitan was one of the IDF soldiers killed in battle in the Gaza Strip last week. Although he died on Tuesday morning, his funeral was delayed several days while the IDF continued to search for various body parts taken as "war booty" by the local Arab residents. The gaily colored berets were worn by members of his Givati brigade, neighborhood friends serving in the tank, engineering and paratroopers corps. The T-shirts were worn by fellow students at the preparatory yeshiva he attended. The sandal-clad young women - friends who served with him as counselors in the Bnei Akiva youth movement.
I was one of the thousand or so participants attending the funeral to pay last respects. I should qualify, however, that I was not a detached bystander. Eitan Newman was my neighbor.
The son of dear friends of my family, Eitan was instrumental in introducing me to the local pre-Lag B'Omer wood-gathering custom. Week after week, Eitan's pile grew outside my bedroom window. I remember asking him what he was doing ? as a recent immigrant I had not yet been exposed to the Lag B'Omer mentality. (Eitan tried to convince me that he was building me a Jacuzzi!) When his prized log was stolen, he was heartbroken, but remained undeterred in his quest to build an unforgettable bonfire.
One of the sad, yet salient facts of warfare is that soldiers die in battle. The establishment of the modern State of Israel mitigated the creation of a professional army. Here in Israel, our army is peopled, for the most part, by conscripts between the ages of 18 and 21. These young men and women represent all that is good about our country. In the prime of their lives, they devote themselves to the security needs of the general populace. They are our sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, our neighbors and our classmates. And because we do not live in a utopian world, our soldiers are called upon, day in and day out. Sometimes, they are called upon to give the ultimate sacrifice ? that of their lives.
In an interview with several news outlets, Eitan's mother, Sara, spoke passionately about her son: "Eitan knew that he had to do what had to be done. He knew that you do what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it." Sara continued, "He loved to help people. A woman from our community told us that if Eitan was on the same bus as she, he would not let her carry her grocery packages to her home. He would carry them all the way to her home, which was some distance away. Eitan was a calming influence on his family and friends."
One wonders if the stoicism exhibited by the Newmans in the face of their terrible loss will be internalized by the nominal leadership in Israel, as well as by the much-touted fashioners of "world opinion".
We often hear, ad nauseum, the reprise, "Israel certainly has the right to defend its people." The statement that the defense of its people is Israel's right is patently false. It is not a right. It is a responsibility. A right is something that can be ascribed to voting, acquiring a driver's license or a building permit. A right, in other words, is optional. You can choose whether or not to exercise your right.
However, Israel, meaning its leadership, has a responsibility to defend its people. It is not a matter of choice. You can not shy away from responsibility. Further, citizens must demand that their political leaders fulfill their obligation. The political hot potato that is the "settlements" in Gaza, or for that matter, the entire Zionist enterprise in the Land of Israel, is of no relevance to the responsibility of defending the people of Israel. The State of Israel was founded upon the ashes of millions of Jews who were killed during the course of the previous two millennia. They were killed because we, the Jewish people, had no place to call home and therefore no home to defend.
Our soldiers, our sons and friends serving in the Israel Defense Forces, are sent on a multitude of missions in defense of our citizenry. They are sent to root out the terrorist infrastructure that exists in Gaza, Judea, Samaria and unfortunately, in a multitude of other locales both near and far.
Despite what some political opportunists say when our boys fall in battle, they have not died in vain. Their inspirational lives become stories that serve as fodder for the next generation of young men and women who know that the defense of the Jewish nation rests on their shoulders. It is a burden they carry on behalf of Jews throughout the world. They seem to take their responsibility seriously. We can only pray that politicians would be as focused on their responsibilities as our young soldiers are on theirs.
When asked by friends in the Diaspora what they can do to help, Sara Newman responds, "Go out and buy products made in Israel. That should be your obligation."
Not too much to ask in return for giving us all the gift of life.
And Eitan, don't worry, next year's bonfire is going to be the biggest by far!