On Thursday, thousands accompanied Staff Sgt. Almenau Emanuel Palka (22) from Kiryat Gat, a soldier in the Duvdevan unit, the 89th commando brigade. Palka died on Wednesday of his wounds after being wounded in battle on 5 December in the southern Gaza Strip.
Everyone spoke of a man who advocated giving, in every field - he gave his life for the country and his body parts to four patients who needed them (lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas). The family immigrated from Ethiopia, Emanuel was not accepted as a commando, enlisted in the paratroopers, tried again and succeeded in realizing his dream. Before the army, he was a leader in the Bnei Akiva youth movement.
Major S., deputy commander of the unit: "We are shocked and pained. Emmanuel was a symbol and legend in his life. You were number one everywhere. Determination, imbued with purpose and doing everything in the best possible way. Imbued with a sense of mission and spirit and not afraid of challenges. Just a month ago you completed a course as outstanding and immediately jumped into the deep water. You were my company's example, always first. And all this with immense modesty and humility. You never felt the need to stand out. In your next position, you were supposed to command the recruits and from there to Bahad 1. You never refused any requests from your teammates and commanders.
"Warrior in the spirit of the Maccabees"
"Even in the most difficult hours, you were the best and always for everyone. You chose to study Torah significantly before coming to the unit. You chose a path and set yourself and from the Beit Midrash you chose to embark on the most significant service. Tonight, in all the houses of Israel, we will light the first candle of Hanukkah - the festival of heroism, the victory of light over darkness. The Maccabees brought about the victory 2,000 years ago, but the essence of their heroism exists in so many Maccabean warriors of this generation.
"You always said that for the defense of this homeland you would die. No man knows when he will return his soul to his Creator. You knew."
You, Emmanuel, were a warrior in the spirit of the Maccabees. You worked to restore Israel's honor and national stature. You didn't let the reality around you weaken and discourage you. You knew very clearly how right this war was. Most right. You entered without questions or doubts, only with faith and great confidence."
Thousands at the funeral,
His older brother Noam, a "Egoz" fighter: "We had an arrangement that if, God forbid, there was such a case, I brought your number and you brought my number to announce. The main thing is that our parents didn't know what we were doing in the army. That's how you wanted it to be. You always said that for the defense of this homeland you would die. Our people yearn for 2,000 years and return to it. The national resilience of the country our parents dreamed of, told stories passed by word of mouth, an entire community that dreamed and fulfilled a dream. No man knows when he will return his soul to his Creator. You knew, you said that no matter where, maybe it would be in the army, maybe it would be in the Shin Bet, maybe it would be in the Mossad - you knew it would be here. No one knows exactly, except you.
"We lied to our parents that we were just jobniks"
"We always told our parents that we were just jobniks, not fighters. They come every Thursday, that's what it should have been. We lied to them so they wouldn't know, so they wouldn't be afraid. When the fighting started, you told my father to pray for me because I had to go in, but you didn't say you were going in before me. So he always prayed for both of us. We will be strong, brothers for parents, for everyone.
"Tonight we will light the first candle, the family, everyone, friends, expected a miracle. Although it was not the miracle we expected, a miracle did happen to four people who received the organs. I was told by the hospital ward that the operation had been successful. Your body saved four people. Your heart is with someone who obviously will be affected by it too. You always preceded others, even on Fridays before leaving for home you went to help the father of a friend who was sick in order to unload his goods before Shabbat began."
Mayor of Kiryat Gat: "The Felka family came to Kiryat Gat a few years ago. Father Andayahu and mother Mamai. The brothers, Noam, Yoav, Sarah and Leah. Emanuel graduated from the high school yeshiva in Bat Yam, from where he went to study at the excellent Bnei David pre-military preparatory school in Ali, and later at the Ateret Mordechai yeshiva in Safed.
"Emmanuel was quiet and humble, always helping people much more than asked. And all with his characteristic quietness and modesty. Even when he reached the army, he continued on his excellent path. A month ago, he completed a course that lasted almost a year and a half, in which he was also selected to be a company excellence and was awarded the IDF Exemplary Medal. Emanuel was destined for an officers' course - to our great sorrow and grief, he will not complete the course for which he was intended.
"Dear Felka family - a great honor has fallen in the part of the city of Kiryat Gat in which you are residing, we will make sure to commemorate Emanuel for his excellent character and qualities, and to celebrate them. The place will comfort you in the midst of the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and you will not add to the daba."
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