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On the morning of October 7, 19-year-old Sergeant Adil Tahar went to fight dozens of terrorists who had entered the Erez crossing. He fought alongside his comrades from the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade until he was hit and killed by an anti-tank missile.
Sergeant Alroy Ben Shitrit, 20, died while heroically monitoring the balloon launch site at Nahal Oz. Sunday marked 11 months of absence for their families, according to the Hebrew calendar. 702 IDF soldiers have been killed since the war began, including 340 in October alone, and seven more in the past four days.
Adil would have celebrated his 20th birthday a month after he died in combat along with so many of his friends. “We celebrated his birthday at Mount Herzl,” his father, David Tahar, said as he visited his son’s grave in Jerusalem on Sunday. “These have been the hardest 11 months of my life and I have been through a lot. Nothing can compare to this. I miss Adil the most on the Sabbath and holidays. When I see the divisions in our country, I think of Adil. Sometimes I feel like my son fought and died in vain.”
“My son will be joining the Duvdewan force in the coming months,” David continued, “but I ask myself – given all the conflict we have within the army – does it really make sense for him to join? This has been one of the biggest struggles for me over these 11 months. At first, I told him, ‘Yeah, sure, follow in your brother’s footsteps.’ But now, I question whether I made the right choice, especially given the divisions within the army.”
David visits the cemetery in the military zone almost every day, sometimes even at night. “There are always people here,” he said. “Mostly families of the fallen soldiers, but also civilians who come to pay their respects. This is the beautiful side of Israel. We have very good people among us. On the other hand, I feel like we have learned nothing. What breaks my heart is that this area is filled with people. While we fill these areas, people are arguing. These arguments on social media weaken us, not strengthen us. But we are a strong country, and I hope we can overcome our differences, save ourselves, and do justice to the children who have been killed.”
This Thursday, the Ben-Shitrit family will hold a memorial service to remember their son, Sergeant Alroy Ben Shitrit, who died 11 months ago in the Battle of Nahal Oz. “The pain gets deeper every day,” said his father, Rafi. The memorial service will be held in the military section of Beit She’an Cemetery and will be attended by family, friends, his unit mates and city residents. “For us, every day is Memorial Day,” Rafi said. “I don’t need a ceremony to remember Alroy. He was with us every moment, everywhere. We remember his bravery, his values, his humility and his character, and it is important for us to spread his spirit and his light as much as possible.”
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Rafi Ben Shitrit and his son, Sergeant Alroy Ben Shitrit, pose for a photo at the tomb.
“Mentally and emotionally, I am still stuck on the same Shabbat,” Rafi added. “Almost a year has passed, but every day is hard. I threw myself into activities and memorial projects: we created a book in memory of Elroy that we distributed in schools and public institutions, opened a music classroom at the ORT Avitar Yeshiva High School where he attended, and we built a special kitchen for him at his elementary school. His two main passions were music and culinary arts, and we chose to honor both of them at the school he attended in Beit She’an.”
“Elroy was a gifted graphic designer and a digital media expert, and the next memorial project is to open a computer classroom focused on graphic design, artificial intelligence and visual communication,” said Rafi, who teaches in high schools, yeshivas and communities across the country.
“I can’t believe it’s already been 11 months. Time has changed for us. We miss him terribly, but we choose to grow and commit to spreading light amidst pain and suffering and telling the brave story of Elroi and his friends. Knowing that he fought back, fought to the last drop of blood and saved the lives of others gives us strength to remember him always, anywhere and at any time.”
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