A deeply emotional and personal moment was recorded today (Wednesday) for public diplomacy activist Yoseph Haddad during his visit to the Binyamin Regional Council.
At the home of Sarah Klein, widow of Major Roi Klein, in the community of Eli, Haddad was shown recent footage from IDF operations in Lebanon-showing the destruction of the building in Bint Jbeil where his revered commander fell in the summer of 2006.
During the current fighting deep inside Lebanon, IDF forces continue to operate to dismantle terror infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah. In one of the latest operations, troops reached the well-known battle site from the Second Lebanon War and destroyed the positions from which the enemy had attacked soldiers of Golani’s Battalion 51 twenty years ago.
Haddad, who was critically wounded in that battle, struggled to hold back tears upon seeing the footage presented to him.
“I will never forget this," he said emotionally. “Do you understand what’s happening in my heart right now in terms of pride? I look at our soldiers-what pride. They are settling an old score; they’ve closed a wound that has been open for 20 years."
The footage brought Haddad back to the difficult moments of the battle under the command of Major Roi Klein and then-battalion commander Yaniv Asor. He recalled the moment the commander spoke over the radio, telling the soldiers: “I love you. This is the time to strike, return fire heavily, and get the job done."
According to Haddad, the shift from formal command language to a personal “I am with you" is what gave them the strength to continue.
Also present at the meeting, alongside Sarah Klein, was Tzofiya Dickstein, mother of Ivri Dickstein HY"D, who fell in the current war.