"Please pray for the Peace of Israel" Psalm 122  [Chapter-21]

Prayer Request for the families: The Faces of young fallen soldiers

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure."  (Psalm 122:6)

                                                                                                                     

Here in Israel, the news has been filled with the death of Jewish soldiers and funerals attended by bereaved families.

These soldiers did not sign up to be in an army.  They were just your regular young Jewish men with plans to go to university and start their adult lives—plans to marry, plans to have children, plans to be happy and at peace.They are in the army because they are drafted to defend this tiny nation, which is besieged by enemies wishing to take the land, even though it is a sliver compared to the enormous quantity of Arab land around it.Here in Israel after you "have to" do the army service from ages 18-21, you are also drafted each year, for approximately 4-6 weeks, as a reservist.  And a man has to do this until they are in their 40's. You can see some the faces of our 64 soldiers who have fallen in defence of their country and families, standing as David before Goliath.

May their memory be blessed.

Staff Sgt. Shai Kushnir, 20, from Kiryat Motzkin

Included among those who fell defending Biblical Israel and the civilians from Hamas rocket fire and the threat of terrorist infiltration by tunnels is Messianic soldier First Sergeant Shai Kushnir. He was one of five soldiers killed by Hamas mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Kushnir, who was 20, grew up in the Haifa area attending a youth group at a Messianic congregation.  As an only son, Kushnir was not permitted to serve in a combat unit, according to IDF regulations. But when he insisted on defending his country, the IDF eventually allowed him to serve as a medic in the Barak (Lightning) Division of the Armored Brigade.  His father had served in the same unit.

Kushnir was killed when his reconnaissance platoon suffered a direct hit.

When he was laid to rest in a full military ceremony just outside of Haifa, over 10,000 came to pay their respects, including two mayors from the Greater Haifa area, IDF generals and commanders from the Armored Brigade, and Messianic friends and congregational leaders. It was an emotional event and many wept openly. "Shai fought bravely in order to defend the citizens of Israel.  Few are willing to put others before themselves, but Shai was motivated by a higher principle of love, generosity and sacrifice for others,” the commanding officer of Shai's unit told the mourners, emphasizing that Kushnir’s principles were the result of his upbringing."Shai, your spirit and willingness to fight has left a profound impression on us.  Your desire to help and to do whatever you could to save a life gave us courage during the fighting over the past few weeks.  Just moments before we went into battle you said, 'You can depend on me.  I will protect you.' "You were more than a friend, Shai, you were like a brother to us.  Your memory will be with us always and will continue to give us the strength to carry on.  We are paying the ultimate price in order to defend our people, the price of our dearest sons and daughters." Here are the faces other Israeli soldiers coupled with the remembrances of loved ones.

Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba

Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was killed by Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip on August 1.  He was engaged to be married just weeks before. “I so wanted to be your bride.  I never thought you’d leave me alone so quickly.  I have no idea what to do,” his beloved Edna said.  “I burst with pride that I was connected to a person who was so infused with values.  I have no idea how life will look without you." “I want to live for you and I look forward to the day when we’ll meet again," Edna said.  "I thank you for the great privilege of making you happy.” His father, Dr. Simcha Goldin, explained in the eulogy that Hadar was a well-mannered man of principles, asking those present to learn from him. “Hadar never cursed and never let his youth group charges curse.  I ask that we all act this way … to act properly.  Don’t hate one another.  Focus on the good in your friends, not their deficiencies,” he said. He also said that Hadar had asked his mother to teach him to sew so he could embroider "strength and humility" on his gun belt.“That’s the Jewish battle doctrine,” Dr. Goldin said.  “To know how to use strength when necessary and to use it with humility.”

Major Benaya Sarel, 26, from Kiryat Arba

Major Benaya Sarel, 26, who was the commander of the elite Sayeret Givati unit, was killed on August 1 in clashes with terrorists in southern Gaza.  He was supposed to be married on August 21. "I have no way to try and explain my pain,"  Benaya’s fiancé, Gali said, trembling.  "I want to say thank you for the best three years of my life.  Thank you for your truth, thank you for coming into my life and teaching me so much.  Thank you for your infinite love, your laughter, and your eyes that will accompany me throughout my life.” "You were the pride of life of every Jewish mother," said Sarel’s mother.  "You were wise, happy, unique, smart, brave, and a hero.  You always knew what you wanted and where you were going and it was hard to argue with you.  All of the different people who came to mourn with us on Friday reminded us who you are—there was no one you met who you did not touch, and especially Gali, who we also love so much and I promise you we will take care of her just as you requested of us.” 

Staff Sgt. Matan Gotlib, 21, from Rishon LeZion

Matan Gotlib, who was part of the Israel Defense Forces' elite Maglan unit, was killed on July 30 while his unit was inspecting a booby trapped tunnel entry shaft discovered in an UNRWA clinic in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis.  Two other soldiers also died. "Matan chose to be a combat soldier out of a sense of purpose, he wanted to have a meaningful military service, he wanted to give his all," his mother, Ruhama, said. "He always said [Maglan] soldiers were sent where they were needed the most, on missions meant to prevent civilian casualties.  That's what he was doing when he was killed." “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were different and I fell in love with you,” his girlfriend Shaphira eulogized.  “Thank you for all the moments when you were there for me, and for the love and joy you added to my life.  I will love you until the end of the world.”

Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim

Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim, was killed on July 28 in an attempted infiltration into Israel via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza. “Our Daniel. Our hero.  I have no idea how to say goodbye to you.  How do you say goodbye to an 18-year-old boy?” Daniel's sister Natalie Kedmi tearfully eulogized.  “You were our light, the glue that held the family together.  You were born with charisma and the ability to lead...  We were always so proud of you.  I hope you are in a good place, take care of yourself.  We miss you.”

 

Staff Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, from Jerusalem

Staff Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, died on July 20, while fighting Hamas militants in a Gaza City neighborhood.  Twelve other Israelis also died in the battle. In 1991, Malko's family had been saved from war and political instability in Ethiopia when Israel covertly airlifted them to the Holy Land, along with thousands of Ethiopian Jews.  Malko was born in Israel. “We are burying one of our sons here today, a son of Jerusalem who died in a battle for the state of Israel,” Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, said.  "Moshe, we will continue to challenge our enemies and send them a strong message that we are not going away, that we will be here forever.” “My Moshiko, my life, my crowning glory, the joy of my life,” his sister Esther cried as she eulogized him at the funeral. “We were fortunate, all your family and friends, to know a man with a true and pure heart, a heart that loved,” she said of her brother. With a great effort to hold back tears, she spoke a few words of comfort to bereaved families. “Don’t think their blood was shed in vain, she said. “They are heroes.  They have fallen with self-sacrifice as martyrs for the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel and for the People of Israel. “Remember that in the merit of unity and brotherly love all pain that comes upon us will be ended and we will be redeemed,” she concluded.

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.   I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth."  (Isaiah 43:5–6)

We cannot say the stories of every young Israeli who perished in Operation Protective Edge. But  every one of them is important and should be remembered.Please pray for the friends and family of the Messianic Kushnir family and the friends and families of the other sixty-three sons of Israel who have made the greatest sacrifice to defend and protect the people of Israel. Let us remember that Messianic Believer Shai Kushnir did not have to be in a combat unit defending Israel.  As a Believer committed to the welfare of Israel, he chose to be. Only a day before Messianic Believer Shai Kushnir died in Israel, his father sent him a message telling him how much he loved and missed him.  He asked how Shai was doing in the face of such danger.“You and all the other youth have an extremely difficult task to shield our tiny country.  With your very lives you are our Protective Edge,” he wrote. “I believe that you and your friends are strong, determined and full of motivation to complete the difficult task that you have. You are the best this country has to offer. We trust you,” he told him.

"O God, do not remain silent... with cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.  'Come,' they say, 'let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.'”  

(Psalm 83:1–4)