Hundreds came to say goodbye Tuesday to Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, 20, in the military section of the cemetery in Kiryat Gat. Tsanani, an armored soldier in the 53rd Battalion, Barak Brigade (188), fell in battle in the Gaza Strip.
Minister Ofir Akunis came to console the family as a representative on behalf of the government. Crowds also came to say goodbye to Tuval. "How can I say goodbye to you, my lover?" his father said just before his burial. "How do I bury a cute maiden like you, what did my son do to you?"
Tuval Yaakov Sanani, z"l, laid to rest, photo: uncredited
Tuval's father, Zuriel, eulogized his son: "Our Tobi, the flower of the family, a graceful, beloved and smiling child, how am I supposed to eulogize you? It's incomprehensible. Unbearable liver pain. How can we talk about you in the past tense?"
"How can we speak of you in the past tense?"
"Everyone loved you, whether it was volunteering in MDA, if it was after. Our world was destroyed when those in uniform came to tell us the bitter news that we, too, had joined the family of bereavement and pain."
"Our child, the crown of our heads, the beloved of our hearts, gave us you as a gift for borrowed time. 20 summers of happiness, joy, contentment and pride. Thank you child, thank you for choosing us to be parents, sorry we couldn't protect you, I promise you here my son, that we will remember and commemorate and continue on your path, spreading goodness and light to the world."
"We love you our dear son, our personal hero, we will continue to fight for you. The name Nathan, the name he took, will be the name of the blessed Lord from now until eternity."
Father of Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Tzanani. "They gave you to us as a gift",
Tuval's older brother, Ravid, eulogized: "You were so good during your time here with us. You were always welcoming, smiling, everywhere you went loved you. Our relationship wasn't the best when we were children, but slowly we built dreams, hoped to fulfill them, travel together, walk together, start a family. We dreamed of how each would see the other with his children – happy and happy."
"From today you are gone"
"From now on you're gone, so I don't have too much to say except that I love you, and I hope Heaven hears it, that you hear it. I am proud of you, you are the pride of the home, you are the pride of all the people of Israel, and an example to all its fighting soldiers. You are a dear man, you are a dear brother, thank you for the time I had to be your big brother and guide you. Miss you, watch over us all."
"Waiting for someone to wake me up from this nightmare." The funeral of Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, photo: uncredited
His sister, her father, struggled and eulogized him in tears and in a chilling voice: "Our Tobi, how do you say goodbye? I'm here with your jacket. My heart just can't accept that you're just not here. How am I going to tell you in the past tense? And to tell people how amazing you were instead of people seeing it for themselves."
"On Wednesday, when we saw you, you were happy and focused on protecting your home. You fell as a hero, for me you were always a hero all the times you protected me from people, pushed me to goals, comforted me when I cried, and instilled in me an indescribable character. You made me see the good in everything, volunteer and help, and that's why I choose to look at the good and don't treat all the bad like you always told me."
"Before any obstacle, you always told me that it was just an obstacle on the way to a quantum leap. I'm waiting for someone to wake me up from this nightmare, but I know I won't wake up from it. I will continue on your path, I will spread the light that you have spread on people. You'll be by my side when I finish high school, when I enlist, when I'm discharged, when I get married and start a house and have children of my own."
The funeral of Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, z"l. We will remember you forever, photo: uncredited
"When I have children you will be sure that they will grow up in your image, I will teach them everything you have taught me in this life. I will teach them only to love, to see the good. They'll learn who you were."
"You will always be with us. You are my guard. I love you until the end of the universe and back. I will forever commemorate you as my brother, my hero and that of everyone you knew. I love you and I'm sorry I didn't get to say that on Wednesday."
The funeral of Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, z"l, at the Kiryat Gat military cemetery, photo: uncredited
On behalf of the IDF, Lieutenant Colonel Guy Kabili delivered a eulogy: "Tuval, I stand here today together with your family and friends, your commanders and your loved ones, pained by your fall. After all, you were and still are significant to many. In these difficult moments, many of your comrades and commanders from the battalion and brigade who continue the fighting against the demon of battle are prevented from being with us and saying goodbye to you on your last journey."
"Salute you on your last way"
"You enlisted about a year ago for significant service as a combat soldier in the Armored Corps, during your service you were called upon to be willing to serve and give of yourself for the sake of others. You demonstrated high professional abilities, and stood out for your curiosity and great motivation."
"Your friends and commander testify that you were a beloved and respectful soldier. Modesty and pleasantness characterized your work and all that you did. You always saw the good of others, you were ready for any task, and you always did so with a smile, and out of a genuine desire to help and contribute."
"Salute you in your last way." The funeral of Staff Sergeant Tuval Yaakov Sanani, z"l, at the Kiryat Gat military cemetery, photo: uncredited
"Dear Sanaani family, Michal and Zuriel, Ravid and her father, I have no words of comfort that can alleviate your unbearable pain in the slightest. Tuval went to fight without hesitation, with bravery and courage, and he fell in the fierce battle in Shejaiya. From now on, his legacy will be bound up with the legacy of the brigade and battalion, a legacy that we pass on to our fighters and those to come."
"My commanders and soldiers of the 188th Brigade bow their heads. We will stand next to you and alongside you, strengthening, supporting and preserving Tuval's legacy and image."
"Tuval, I salute you in your last way for all your work and service in the brigade and in the IDF, you will forever remain an inseparable part of the 53rd Battalion, the eternal soldiers of the 188th Brigade, rest in peace, your memory will be blessed forever."
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