The price of security
Two Israeli soldiers were killed on the country’s northern borders this week. President Rivlin has visited their families.
A visit from the president Photo: Haim Zach/GPO
On his return from New York, President Reuven Rivlin paid condolence visits to the families of Staff-Sgt. Dor Chaim Nini in Shtulim, and Maj. Yochai Kalangel in Elazar. The two soldiers were killed when their patrol vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile fired into Israel on the northern border on Wednesday.
Sitting with the family of Dor, the President said, “I want you to know, that from the moment I received the news, while in New York, I spoke with each leader I met, about the great loss that we had suffered as a country. I felt that we were their emissaries as they were all of ours.”
A visit from the president Photo: Haim Zach/GPO
The President went on to say, “I have not come to offer you comfort. I know there is no such thing. The pain will remain long after the week of mourning, but I assure you we will not forget – not me, not the IDF, nor the people of Israel – what a hero Dor was.”
Dor’s mother told the President, “I always knew my son was a hero.” His father added, “He did everything for us, he was our right hand. There are no words to describe the great loss to the family.”
The President embraced Dor’s parents and siblings, and said that he prayed they would know no more sorrow.
A visit from the president Photo: Haim Zach/GPO
A visit from the president Photo: Haim Zach/GPO
From there the President continued to Elzazar, to the home of the parents of Dor’s commanding officer Maj. Yochai Kalangel who was also killed in the attack.
The President said, “Before coming today, I listened at length to the testimonies of who Yochai was. I have no doubt that he was chosen for his position as a direct result of his most impressive acts and abilities. It is heart-breaking when one understands the clear potential he had to be a great leader in the IDF.”
The President spoke at length with the family about their years living in Elazar, and said that the landscape of Yochai’s childhood clearly represented the values upon which he was raised. “We could not ask for a more appropriate commander for our sons and daughters in the Israel Defence Forces. We will remember him, and carry with us his legacy.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon visited IDF soldiers who were wounded in Wednesday’s terrorist attack in the north at Rambam Hospital in Haifa,.
At the end of the visit, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Last night I spoke with the families of Yohai Kalangel and Dor Chaim Nini and I told them that I was speaking both as Prime Minister and as a member of their family, the family of the bereaved. I told them that I embrace them on behalf of the entire people of Israel. The Defense Minister and I have just visited with wounded. I was impressed by their extraordinary determination and their desire to return to serving with their comrades as quickly as possible.
We are under a prolonged attack organized by Iran. Iran is trying to uproot us from here; they will not succeed. We have put down roots here and we will continue to do so. We will continue to make our state flourish. We will continue to create new life. We are in the midst of a prolonged struggle with the same Iran that has opened new fronts against us and which is promoting terrorism across the Middle East and throughout the entire world. This is the same Iran which the major powers are now making an agreement with, an agreement that will leave it with the ability to develop nuclear bombs. This is an agreement that we oppose and this is the main issue. It is possible to resolve procedural problems regarding my appearance in the US. But if Iran arms itself with nuclear weapons, this will be much more difficult to resolve, and this is what we oppose and what we are focusing on.”
