Shira Gvili, the sister of fallen police officer Ran Gvili, delivered an emotional eulogy on Wednesday during the funeral procession in the southern community of Meitar, 843 days after her brother was killed in action and his body taken to Gaza.
Fighting back tears, Shira opened her remarks by addressing her brother directly. “Hey Rani, my life, my best friend - I still can’t believe you’re here," she said. She recalled how, two days after the mourning period, their mother told her it would take time until Ran returned. “I never imagined it would take 843 days, during which pain, fear, and worry would become an inseparable part of our daily lives."
She shared the memory of their final moments together. “On the day you left, I felt something bad was going to happen," she said. “You were sitting in Omri’s room and told Mom, ‘See, I can move my hand?’ I told myself to lift my eyes because this would be the last time I’d see you. You took Dad’s car and drove off, and I stood there and did nothing."
Shira spoke of the lingering guilt and loss she has carried since that day. “There isn’t a day that I don’t think about what would have happened if I had begged you to stay home," she said. “The forest isn’t the same forest anymore, the mall doesn’t have nice clothes, and even schnitzel doesn’t taste the same. These were our things."
Recalling their shared life, she added, “Do you remember the nights out, the Thursday parties - and most of all, you and me? Our laughter, our arguments - they’re over, and I’m left with memories, each one like an arrow to the heart." She said every motorcycle that passes takes her back two years. “Who will call me ‘Shosh’? Who will protect me? In these two years, I lost you - and then I lost myself."
Shira said that at an earlier memorial, she had promised her brother she would choose life. “I swear to you that even when it was hard, I did it," she said. “I promised I would be happy, and that you would always be by my side." She described dreaming of her brother and feeling his presence when she felt whole. During a trip to East Asia, she rode a motorcycle to better understand his passion for riding. “I felt you guiding me - in every decision then, and still today, from afar," she said.
She also described her efforts over the past year to bring her brother home. “In the last month, I flew to the United States with one goal - to bring you back," she said. “I reached places I never dreamed I would reach. I spoke about you everywhere - at the United Nations, in Congress, and at the White House - all in English. Are you proud of me? I truly did everything I could so you would return."
Shira ended by divesting herself of her status as a public figure. “Now that the struggle to bring you home is over, allow me to take off the uniform and the title - sister of a hostage - and simply be Rani’s sister again," she said. She recalled a trip they had planned together. “I’ll go to South America with you in my heart, when you tell me it’s time."
“I love you, my big and beloved brother," she concluded. “Please keep coming to me in my dreams. Help me when it’s hard. I love you - and everything is all right. I’m not worried."
Immediately after her remarks, Shira played a recording of her brother’s voice, in which Ran can be heard saying: “Don’t worry, sister. Everything’s fine."