Soldiers killed in grenade accident laid to rest
Thousands came to accompany Sgt. Shlomo Rindeno and Staff Sgt. Husam Tafash on their final journey after the two were tragically killed in the Golan Heights the previous day; 'You were our baby, and somehow you became the most heroic out of all of us put together,' says Shlomo's sister; 'We lost the one we hold dearest. We'll continue to remember you, you'll remain in our hearts,' say members of Husam's family.
Lone soldier Sgt. Shlomo Rindenow and reserve soldier Staff Sgt. Husam Tafash, who were killed on Sunday morning in a grenade explosion in the Golan Heights, were laid to rest on Monday, accompanied by thousands
on their final journey.
Shlomo Rindenow's brother Jeff called on people to come to his brother's funeral. As a result of this call, over 2,000 people—family members, soldiers, and other Israelis—arrived to the Or Yitzhak synagogue in Netzer Hazani to pay their respects.
Shlomo's parents, Mordechai and Mindi Rindenow, landed in Israel Monday morning for the funeral. Eli Eskozizo, Head of the Nahal Sorek Regional Council in which the town is located, has complied with the parents' request to not have their son buried in the military plot, so they could be buried alongside him in the future.
Avraham, Shlomo's oldest brother, eulogized him, "my little brother is lying here. My little brother was full of life and always smiling, and he never complained. He was the little guy of the family. He told me 'I want to go into the IDF.' He came (to Israel) and now he's here because he was serving all of us."
"You were our baby, and somehow you became the most heroic out of all of us put together," said his sister Yocheved. "You were wise beyond your years, and had a full heart… what a heart. You loved everyone so much. I'm so sorry about what happened to you. I thought that you would be safe in everything you did because you were so independent. Shlomo taught all of us to be open-hearted and pure. We all know that you are a righteous person because of all the obstacles you were able to successfully overcome. We love you so much. You're part of our hearts and you always will be. I'm grateful that you were my brother."
Shlomo, 20, immigrated to Israel two years ago from New Jersy and moved to Netzer Hazani outside of Rehovot. He leaves behind both parents and nine brothers and sisters, five of whom immigrated to Israel to enlist in the IDF, where they all served in combat positions.
"Shlomo was a handsome man with a shy smile always on his face," neighbors said of him. "He came to Israel a year early to volunteer with a special canine search and rescue unit."
Meanwhile, in the Druze village of Beit Jann, thousands came to pay their final respects to Staff Sgt. Husam Tafash, 24, including hundreds of soldiers and police officers.
"We lost the one we hold dearest. We'll continue to remember you, you'll remain in our hearts," said members of Husam's family.
Abdullah, Husam's father, said, "This is the hardest moment in our lives. We didn't expect to lose our wonderful son. Despite all of the difficulties and our emotional situation, we'll do everything to deal with this disaster."
Dr. Samir Tafash eulogized his friend Husam, "Our friend Husam would always say, 'Why do we have to die to live in heaven?' I didn't know my father would tell me yesterday that my best friend died. I didn't know I would not see him again. Two days ago I had one last conversation with the hero. I miss talking to him, I'd like to talk to him again, if only for a minute, but unfortunately I won't get to again."
Ahsan Tafash, another relative, said, "I saw Husam just recently. He was always smiling. Last time we met he spoke about wanted to have a home and get ahead in life. Unfortunately he left us before getting to live his dreams."
An initial investigation stated that around 7:10am on Sunday morning, the military patrol jeep was returning from a routine brush cleaning operation on the border with Syria.
When the jeep approached an IDF outpost on the foothills of Mt. Hebron, an altercation ensued between the driver and the soldiers in the force.
At a certain point, as the jeep got close to the outpost, the driver got out of the jeep, pulled the pin out of a fragmentation grenade, and walked towards the commander's door.
He then went to the front of the jeep, and when the commander's door opened, the driver pushed his way inside and released the grenade.
The Army and the Northern Command appointed a team to investigate the incident, headed by the Commander of the 3rd Division, Col. Yoav Yoram.
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