Mourned in Lebanon: Five Soldiers with Three Religious Zionist Educators Among Them

Those who were killed included the beloved rabbi from a Jerusalem high school-a volunteer who donated a kidney to an unidentified person, an educator and son of the former Prime Minister Bennett. All the three were serving in the reserves for almost a year.

Friends and colleagues, meanwhile, mourned the death of five soldiers killed overnight fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon: Captain (Reserve) Rabbi Avraham Yosef Goldberg, a highly respected rabbi and a teacher at a Jerusalem high school, and two other religious Zionist teachers.

During the confrontation, 14 soldiers were wounded against the Hezbollah members. The killed ones included Staff Sergeant Gilad Almaliah, 30, from Jerusalem; Captain Amit Shaiot, 29, from Haifa; Major Eliav Amram Abitbol, 36, from Etan; and Senior Sergeant Major Shaul Moyal, 47, from the Karnei Shomron region.

It is reported that 24 soldiers have been killed over the past week, one on Sunday from injuries suffered in an earlier Gaza operation. Channel 12 News is now reporting that this week’s casualties have left 56 children without a parent.

Relatives and friends gathered Sunday night to bury Rabbi Goldberg in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. A Jerusalem resident, Goldberg taught at Himmelfarb High School, which he had once attended.

Goldberg had served 260 days of reserve duty since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that marked the beginning of the current conflict.

He is survived by his wife, Rachel, who was born in Israel to American parents, including her father Rabbi Zvi Wolf, who for many years was on the faculty of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, and their eight children.

During the eulogies for Goldberg, some pointed out his position as a military rabbi and educator, emphasizing support of integrating religious studies with active duty, while others used more critical rhetoric against the exemptions given to ultra-Orthodox students in full-time study.

Yoni Wolf said, “The people of Israel lost a lot today when my brother-in-law, one of the best educators and academics, was killed.”.

He continued, “I am speaking in place of my sister Rachel and the wives of the reservists who are crying out with emotion.” The way of the Torah is to go forward and to battle.

Speaking before those who supported the draft exemption law, Wolf urged them not to support the law since there are very important Torah scholars who served in the military, faithfully putting into practice what the Torah taught.

He declared whoever wants to study the Torah should continue doing so but from now on, no longer depend on the State of Israel or families like his sister’s who now has to care for eight orphaned children.

In a long post about X Sunday evening, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu wrote that Goldberg was the embodiment of the ‘Torah of truth’ of Rabbi Kotzker – one in which truth finds expression in bitter and multifaceted reality.

Eliyahu explained: “My eight sad children prove that it is possible to raise a family, through Torah and fear of Heaven, even when the father is in the army, even when he is carrying with him the weight of security for the State. His widow proves it is possible to establish a home upon Torah, even though her husband carries on his shoulders the burden of the country’s security.

Naftali Bennett Mourns The Loss of His Son’s Teacher

Chief of the Regional Council Yehonatan Kuznits thanked Staff Sergeant Shaul Moyal, 47 years old and a father of ten, born in the Aloni Shilo outpost in the West Bank, who did much service with bravery against the enemies of the country.

Moyal is survived by his wife and ten children

Moyal also taught at a school in Ra’anana and had one pupil who was the son of ex-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Bennett paid his respects to the memory of “Rabbi Shaul,” as he called him, as did all of the students who took classes in science from him.

An ex-PM took a video from X, which Moyal had sent his students at the start of Adar, the festive month. In that video, he is seen singing and dancing in a funny song, telling his pupils true and from the heart, “My favorite thing in the world is teaching you.”

Off-camera, Bennett recounted, “About a month ago, David came home in a state of shock.” The boy’s science teacher, Rabbi Shaul Moyal, was called up on the spot for reserve duty and had to leave class in mid-lesson.

Bennett said he and his family visited friends in the small community last Friday. It seemed almost devoid of men, he said, as most were on reserve duty.

Teacher Who Donated His Kidney to a Child

Eliav Amram Abitbol, 36, Major in the Reserve, had taught in a religious school in Rishon Lezion, central Israel. His school had described him as a “dedicated and beloved teacher.” He is survived by his wife and four children.

Ynet quoted Abitbol’s sister, Aderet, as saying the following about Eliav and his wife Tal: “They always volunteered and were never stingy. They dedicated themselves to the daycare center, taking care of children. Where there was a need for assistance, Eliav was there.”.

She said he was always looking for ways to serve. “He had almost a whole year of reserve duty, with just two months off. On October 7 [2023], he got the call-up again, and since then, he has been in combat.”

Hebrew media reported that Abitbol donated a kidney to a 12-year-old girl whom he never knew thereby saving her life, two years ago.

“300 Days of Reserve Duty for a Kind Heart”

Captain (Reserve) Amit Shayot, 29 from Haifa, was described by his brother Dvir to Ynet as “an exceptional person with a kind heart, always happy, responsible dignified and always with friends around him.” Shayot is survived by his brother Dvir, by two brothers Ronen and Moshe, and his parents Tzipi and Yehoshua.

Shayot graduated from Yavneh Religious School in Haifa and then studied at a pre-army academy for a year and a half before being drafted into the Golani Brigade. He completed the IDF officer’s course with honors and afterwards received a double major in mathematics and computer science from the Technion Institute.

His family said he had been serving in the reserve for more than 300 days since October 7, adding that he and his partner Shiri were planning to get married.

Shayot was buried Sunday in the Haifa military cemetery.

A Father of Five Who Never Forgot To Include Everyone

The brother-in-law of Gilad Almaliah, a 30-year-old Reserve Sergeant from Jerusalem, said on Sunday that he was one of those people who always paid attention to the marginal elements of society, such as the elderly and Holocaust survivors, and never overlooked anyone.

He leaves behind his wife, Shir, and five children, among them a four-month-old son.

His brother-in-law described Gilad as hypersensitive, who is one of those people who, before doing anything, would always ask if it was the moral thing to do, but when he was in your company, he was always playful, and right until his last day, he kept his calm demeanor.

He was laid to rest Sunday evening at Mount Herzl.