IDF First Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal was killed when a citizen threw a rock at his head. The rock was thrown from the roof of the last building before the IDF combat team left the village Ya’bad after an operational activity. His head was protected, but when he looked up, his face was exposed and he was struck dead. His funeral was held Tuesday evening where his parents mourned for him. “You should have had to bury me, not I you,” his father Baruch said. Amit was his only child, and Baruch had signed a paper allowing him to serve in combat despite that fact. Amit’s mother Nava wept at his grave, crying, “My son is a hero. My son is a hero.”
What a tragic story in Israel this week. In a completely harmless situation, an unprovoked citizen with bloodlust for Israel took the life of a young man just one month from completing his service to his nation. A blind hatred of any group of people is a dangerous thing, and Amit’s death is one of many that proves that fact.
Fortunately with the coronavirus lockdown having been recently lifted in Israel, mourners were allowed to gather to remember Amit. If nothing else good came of it, the lockdown gave us a break from incidents of violence in Israel, but the ending of stay-at-home orders probably means a return to aggression against Israel and the IDF by those who hate them. His murder was obviously heartbreaking, yet in every tragedy we are reminded of God’s comfort. I pray He would comfort Amit’s family and protect the IDF soldiers in the face of this murder.
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