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🇮🇱 Israel /Culture & Society

From sirens to song: Friendship forged in Israel’s shared loss

From Jerusalem Post · (4m ago) English Mixed tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • On Israel's Remembrance Day, a personal connection emerged between two women through a shared fallen soldier, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Yossi Hershkovitz.
  • Hershkovitz, a former teacher to one woman, and Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, son of an ambassador and co-author's subject, fought and fell together.
  • Their shared loss highlights the deep, often unexpected connections that can form even across distances, binding individuals through profound national grief.

In Israel, Remembrance Day is a deeply felt national experience, a day when the collective grief for fallen soldiers and terror victims is palpable and shared shoulder-to-shoulder. This year, the profound sense of unity in sorrow was amplified by a remarkable personal story that bridged continents.

What a small world,” we expressed to each other. How meaningful it felt to find our friendship bound by the imprint these two heroes made on our lives!

— Sabrina Soffer and Bella IngberReflecting on the unexpected connection forged through their shared knowledge of the fallen soldiers.

Bella Ingber, in New York, shared a social media post about her former teacher, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Yossi Hershkovitz, who fell in battle. Sabrina Soffer, in Israel, saw the post and reached out, recognizing Hershkovitz's story through her work on a book about Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter. The connection was immediate and profound: Hershkovitz and Leiter had fought together, fallen together, and now rest side-by-side on Jerusalem's Mount Herzl.

Yossi taught Nevi’im (Book of Prophets) and Torah with a passion that brought ancient stories and teachings to life – not as history to be memorized, but a living inheritance.

— Bella IngberDescribing the impact of Yossi Hershkovitz as a teacher.

This story, as told by The Jerusalem Post, resonates deeply within Israel. It underscores how the pain of loss, while national, is also intensely personal. The shared legacy of heroes like Hershkovitz and Leiter, who embodied passion for Jewish peoplehood and human agency, continues to inspire. Their lives, marked by devotion to students and country, serve as a powerful reminder of the enduring spirit of Israel, even in the face of immense tragedy.

His devotion to his students was as instinctive as his devotion to his people: reviewing material until it clicked, patient and smiling through every question, and arriving at parent-teacher conferences with detailed notes on each student.

— Bella IngberHighlighting Yossi Hershkovitz's dedication as an educator.

While diaspora communities observe Remembrance Day with solidarity, the physical closeness experienced in Israel offers a unique dimension to mourning. This narrative, however, shows how even across vast distances, the threads of shared loss and heroism can weave a powerful tapestry of connection, demonstrating that the heartbeat of Israel's fallen reverberates in the chests of many, near and far.

The song “Eretz Tzvi” tells the story of Operation Thunderbolt, the 1976 rescue mission to Entebbe. “Esrim Elef Ish” was written for a lone soldier who fell in Gaza in 2014, and twenty thousand strangers attended his funeral so he wouldn’t be buried alone.

— Bella IngberExplaining the significance of the songs chosen for the Remembrance Day ceremony.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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