In the fighting in Gaza, 24-year-old Jonathan Luber from Yitzhar fell yesterday. He is survived by his wife, a 10-month-old baby, parents and siblings. Today (Tuesday), Jonathan's father, Hagai Louber, an actor, playwright and founder of the Aspaklaria Theater, was interviewed by Kan Tarbut, and spoke about his son: "Before he entered Gaza, he said: 'Now it's our turn.' Then I realized that now it was my turn to give some comfort to this people."
Jonathan Luber's son reacts to a photo of his father
"My son was such a gentle man. On Simchat Torah, something changed in him, something broke in him, from a boy who didn't like the army he became 'six gods of battle,' and he was so happy that they gave him this Negev that he could charge forward with it," Hagai described.
He went on to recount the unfolding events of the day his son fell: "At some point they were going to enter Gaza, and they needed 4 fighters to stay, and they left him, I guess because he has a baby. So he just called the commander and told him, 'There's no such situation – I'm going into Gaza.' He called me, and what am I going to tell him?, I said, 'You're right.'"
Jonathan Louvre, Photo: None
"I think that with his honesty he recognized that it is not Shabbat that is accursed, nor that Shabbat is black, nor that he is to blame or the prime minister, or 'brothers in arms' or the disengagement. He knew that the culprits, the finger leads only to one place, and that is to these evildoers, who can cut off a hand to an 8-year-old girl, and rape a 15-year-old girl, and kill old people and children. And I think he channeled this pain, which hurt his sensitive soul so much, he channeled it into destroying evil. Because it's not just evil that threatens us, it's evil that threatens the world."
He continued: "I had two worries - the knock on the door that happened last night and the second thing, I am terrified of what will happen to our people the day after the war."
Two hours before Jonathan fell in battle, Hagai posted a video showing Jonathan's little son looking with delight and longing at the picture of his father, who would not hug him again. Yehonatan is not the first member of the family to be killed in the struggle for the Land of Israel: About ten months ago, his two cousins, Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, were murdered in a shooting attack in the village of Huwara while they were making their way from their home in Har Bracha.
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