Hundreds gathered Monday to accompany murdered hostage Yossi Sharabi to his final resting place. Sharabi was abducted by the Hamas terror organization during the October 7 massacre, and his body was returned to Israel about two weeks ago.
Attending the funeral was Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who spoke alongside Sharabi’s family: his wife Nira, his daughters, and Ofir Engel, his daughter Yuval’s fiancé, who was held captive with him and later released.
Nira Sharabi, Yossi’s widow, delivered an emotional eulogy, saying: “I’m standing here today where the end begins. For two years I haven’t been able to breathe, for two years I've been screaming silently inside and asking-why? I hurt for you, the pain of angels. What world is this, where daughters must bury their father so young, where a mother buries her son, where a wife buries the love of her life with so much left undone? You were our shield. You took on everything I couldn’t, and now I take it on-and you are so terribly missed. You gave me life...you saved you, you saved my heart. For two years I have been afraid to sleep, because you are not there - and what if something happens? I know that you are watching us and protecting us from above. ... I trust you, that like always, my help will come from you. Rest in peace, my beloved husband. I love you forever.”
Yuval, Yossi’s daughter, said tearfully: “After two years, this is the first time I can truly breathe. You’ve finally come home-not the way I wanted you to come back to me, but at least now you can rest and connect to the tranquility that you always had in you. It hurts that you won’t walk me down the aisle, that you won’t see me happy, that you’ll never get to be a grandfather and meet the grandchildren you'll have. But I hold onto one thing, even if it is the smallest thing: When you were in captivity with Ofir and Amit, the terrorist came and asked you if you approved of me marrying Ofir, and you said yes. So Dad, when I marry Ofir, I’ll do it with peace in my heart-because I know I have your blessing, and that is more important to me than anything else. But please can you promise me one thing? Can you watch over us and accompany me everywhere I go? Because I can't continue without you, I need you, even if it is only in my thoughts. I love you, Dad.”
Her sister Ofir added: “It’s so hard here without you, Dad. I want you to come back and hug me, I dream of just one more small hug, one more look telling me everything will be okay, that you'll hold me when it's hard, that I'll have where to run when I am scared, but I lost that. I don't have you and there's no one else who can replace you. I’m sure there are loved ones waiting for you up there-please send regards to Lian, Noya, Yahel, Idani, Ido, Tahl, and Carmel, who are sorely missed here. Now rest. We’ll keep you close and protect you better. I am sorry we did not manage to save you.”
Ofir Engel, Yuval's partner who survived Hamas captivity and was held with Sharabi, recalled: “During the two months we were held together, we were locked in a small room, hungry and terrified, you took care of me. You shared with me the little food we had there, so that we would be less hungry. We spoke about your daughters, with concern and great fear, because we did not know what had happened to them. We spoke about the sea and how much you love it, how much you missed it, how much you wanted to go back to surfing. These conversations, even out of fear, were filled with love and your concern for them. On that day, when the terrorists ordered us to write farewell letters to our families because we’d be killed the next day, I never got to read yours. I’m so sorry for the words that I did not read, that I can’t share with Nira and your daughters what you wrote to them.”
President Herzog eulogized Sharabi with deep emotion: “At this painful and heartbreaking moment, as President of the State of Israel, on behalf of the State of Israel and the entire nation, I ask you, Yossi - and the Sharabi family, and all of Kibbutz Be’eri - for forgiveness. Forgive us for not saving you, for not bringing you home sooner, for failing to protect you on that cursed day. Forgive us that it took so long to return you to your homeland.”
Addressing the Sharabi family, Herzog said: “The Sharabi family - rooted, principled, and Zionist since your aliyah from Yemen - has become a national and global symbol. But before the symbol, there was a family: Yossi’s parents and their five children, three sons and two daughters, who built a story of love, unity, and mutual aid.”
“Yossi built with Nira a beautiful home and a wonderful family. With his passing, he leaves us with a light which burns in everyone's hearts. Yossi's good light, his courage and nobility, his warmth and sweetness, will remain with us always. With that strength, with that spirit, we will continue to correct, to rebuild, to add light, and to fight for life. From this place, we cry out for the return of all the deceased hostages for burial in Israel, and pray and hope for days when peace, calm, and hope will return to Be’eri and to all the Gaza Envelope.”