Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, aged 20, from Ra'anana, who fell in battle on Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip, was laid to rest on Monday. Rosenfeld was a soldier in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade.
The funeral was held at the military plot in the Ra'anana Cemetery and was attended by family, friends, commanders, and fellow soldiers.
In his eulogy, Natan's father addressed the people of Israel, stating: "The people of Israel are good people. It's not the time to argue. It's not the time to have arguments in the Knesset or on the streets. Think of our soldiers, they fight every day, they give their lives every second. Be together, give them the respect, the support. We have to be together, united."
He added: "Hashem, I speak to you now: People who know me know my doubts, they know my fights. When you have grandparents who went into gas chambers and parents who had great sores and pains after the Second World War. We lost six million people. It is hard to sit down and say, 'Yes, there is a G-d and I believe and I'm convinced.' But I'm standing here at the moment where I have to make a decision, and my decision is: Hashem, you're above us, it all has a purpose, a much bigger purpose than we know about. We suffered the Holocaust, the 7th of October, all the families of the soldiers who fell, and all the hostages who are now dead or are still there; the suffering is beyond belief. Hashem, it's enough! The people of Israel are good people. Hashem save us, because it's only you.
"As far as we're concerned, our boy is still with us. Every day, he is with us; he will be with us until our last days. He fills our home with his spirit, his smile, his beauty. Natan, my beautiful boy, it's so hard to stand here, but I'm so proud of you. You're a hero, like all the other soldiers are heroes. The people of Israel need to know that we need to be together and always support our soldiers. I love you, and for you, we will do all we can in your memory. You won't be forgotten. Your sacrifice, and that of your brothers and sisters who have fallen, and the suffering of their families, is not in vain. It's from the people of Israel, it has to be. We will not give up until Israel is a safe place for our children," he concluded.
His mother eulogized: "I can't actually quite believe that I'm standing here at your funeral. It's really quite unbelievable in your 20 years, how much you've been able to achieve." She described him as free-spirited, social, and fun-loving.
In an especially moving moment, Natan's mother read his Bar Mitzva speech and noted: "You never took life too seriously, and I just imagine you looking at all of us now and thinking: 'Seriously, what are you doing?' You would definitely be laughing at our direction."
She concluded: "Natan, we hope you are the last sacrifice anyone should have to pay for the price of our land and our freedom. There is no religious, secular, or haredi person in the army, we are all one people, with one heart. We need to come together and put aside our differences. You shall not die in vain."
Colonel Avshalom Dadon eulogized: "Our objective in this war is to bring back the hostages, whether alive or for burial, and to defeat the murderous organization. Natan, a stranger wouldn't understand; I do. You and your friends were my light."
He recounted: "You immigrated from Britain, and you enlisted and were always the first to volunteer for any task. Despite the difficulty, you always showed a strong spirit. Natan, the thing that drew me the most was that you were one friend among friends, an attribute that is so rare and can not be learned, an attribute that you brought from home. We lost a man, a warrior, and a leader."
Rosenfeld immigrated to Israel from the UK 11 years ago and studied at the Meitarim School in Ra'anana. The school administration stated that he was "the one who always smiled and always had a good heart."
