Haredi IDF soldiers light candles at 2018 Givat Assaf terror attack site
Mourners at the site eulogized the fallen soldiers, and spoke of the link between heroism and the story of Hanukkah.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFSoldiers in the IDF's Netzah Yehuda battalion are seen lighting Hanukkah candles at the Givat Assaf junction, where two of its members were murdered and a third wounded in a terrorist attack in 2018.(photo credit: NETZAH YEHUDAH)
IDF soldiers in the Netzah Yehuda (Nahal Haredi) battalion held a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony Monday at the Givat Assaf junction, where two of its soldiers were killed and a third seriously wounded in a 2018 terrorist attack.Candles were also lit by bereaved family members of the murdered soldiers: 20-year-old St.-Sgt. Yuval Mor-Yosef of Ashkelon and 19-year-old Sgt. Yosef Cohen of Beit Shemesh.Also attending the ceremony were the battalion's commander, Lt.-Gen. Mati Shevah, other members of the IDF top brass and the founders and representatives of the Netzah Yehuda Association, which works to help recruit haredim (ultra-Orthodox) into the IDF.Mourners at the site eulogized the fallen soldiers, and spoke of the link between heroism and the story of Hanukkah."During these days of Hanukkah, we celebrate the spiritual victory of the Jewish people over those who sought to undermine the tradition of Israel and the faith of the Jews,” said association co-founder Rabbi Yitzhak Bar-Haim.“In response, the Maccabees rose up and fought to liberate the Land of Israel from the Greeks and the Hellenists," he said. "Now we have the privilege of lighting the fifth Hanukkah candle with today's Maccabees – the soldiers of Netzah Yehuda – together with members of these precious bereaved families who lost loved ones in the ongoing battle for freedom in this land.""Being a hero isn't just about being a fighter who runs into battle. It's also being able to see your friend – another soldier – who has no place to sleep or make his bed. That was Yuval. Yuval was a hero," said Mor-Yosef's father Mordechai.These comments reflect statements made in early December by Minister in the Defense Ministry Michael Biton, who referred to the haredi soldiers in Netzah Yehuda as "the Maccabees of our time," for standing "by the courage of their spiritual convictions."The Givat Assaf terrorist attack was one of the worst in recent years, with two soldiers murdered and a third, Netanel Felber, seriously wounded and currently still in recovery.In 2019, a memorial was erected at the junction. It reads: "Here the holy defenders of the Land of Israel fell while sanctifying God’s name, his people and the land. St.-Sgt. Yuval Mor-Yosef and Sgt. Yosef Cohen, soldiers of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion.”
