Family and friends, many media outlets, members of the defense establishment and the country's top brass accompany the late Staff Sgt. Gal Meir Eisenkot, the youngest son of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, on his final journey to the Pinsker Cemetery in Herzliya. Gal, 25, was killed during an operation in the heart of the Gaza Strip, on the 62nd day of the war.
The country's top brass at the funeral of Gal Meir Eisenkot, photo: Lilach Shoval
Among those present was Benny Gantz, the IDF's 20th Chief of Staff. He eulogized Gal: "What makes a talented young man leave everything and go into battle? Home, your home, ours, the State of Israel, which is perhaps in its most difficult hour. The house that teaches to shout after me. Gadi When we approved our plans, we knew that the arrows on the maps can become arrows in the hearts of families and you, my friends, are the embodiment of placing the national interest above all family considerations. In recent weeks, your wide hearts have not given you rest in front of the entire family of the deceased or kidnapped, they were all your sons and daughters."
Benny Gantz hugs Gadi Eizenkot at his son Gal's funeral, photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
He sought to strengthen the family: "When I received the news, I said that you and no one else deserve it. You left with modesty, composure and quiet leadership, and I already knew that from a home like yours grow up heroes who go into battle. Only those who grew up with Ben-Gurion's statement that Israel's fate depends on its strength and justice will embark on a war of justice. Nathan Yonatan, who lost his son in the Kippur War, wrote: 'Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, nothing bad will happen, I will only miss you.' I am with you, the Eisenkot family, a family with a heart as big as steel. Blessed are the land, whose homes are taught to do good and revival, and blessed are the land's sons who asked its sons like a wave, may his memory be blessed."
Gadi Eisenkot with his son Gal, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip, photo: courtesy of the family
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