Sergeant Major Noam Raz of Israel Police's elite counterterror unit Yamam, who was killed in a shootout with Palestinian militants in the West Bank over the weekend, was laid to rest on Sunday in the police section of Mount Herzl National Cemetery in Jerusalem.
"I'm grateful for getting the chance to know you, and thank you for choosing me to be your wife," his grieving wife Efrat Raz eulogized.
A crowd of a few hundred, including Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Border Police Commander Amir Cohen, came to accompany the 47-year-old veteran officer on his final journey. Upon the family's return from the funeral, hundreds of people holding Israeli flags and signs in Raz's memory were seen standing in a line stretching for miles.
"In your life, you gave everything for the people of Israel, so today they came to say 'thank you'," his wife said.
"Thank you for teaching us how to be modest, be grateful for what we have, and thank you for the life, love, and joy you brought to our home. All your values were expressed through actions, your connection to the land, and building and joining a new settlement. Our heart is torn from longing and love."
Sons Barel and Eitam also bid farewell to their father.
"Dad, whoever wrote the phrase 'say little, do much', must have known you. You had a dream to perform an inauguration of a Torah scroll and we will make it come true to ascent your soul. You've always been happy with what you had and we'd never heard you complain. You were humble, a hero, and we are sure you will rest in peace in the heavens."
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said: "Noam joins a long line of policemen who since the establishment of Israel and to this day found themselves fulfilling defensive and offensive missions against the enemy and terrorist organizations. Noam was a hero in his life and a hero in his death, full of good virtues and he never gave up on his national mission and the values he came with from home. Today we accompany one of Israel's heroes to eternal rest, whose majority of operations will remain confidential. Rest in peace, and keep a look after your family from above as you used to do for so many years for them and for everyone around you."
3 View gallery
Wreaths placed on top of Noam Raz's fresh grave in the Mount Herzl National Cemetery in Jerusalem
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Border Police Commander Amir Cohen said that the fallen commando has "paid the ultimate price to protect the land of Israel" and "fought for it until your own blood was absorbed by it."
"Dear Raz family, your father was a great man who heroically fought and sacrificed everything for the Holy Land. For decades he gave everything to the people of Israel in countless complex and dangerous operations. And he acted bravely and with rare courage to save many lives of the citizens of Israel," he said.
Yamam commander H. mentioned at the funeral that "only two months ago, during the shootout in which Chief Superintendent S., a commander of the elite counterterrorism Border Police unit Yamam was severely wounded, it was you Noam who gave him an initial medical treatment until he was taken to hospital.
"You are a hero, and above your grave, we pledge to keep your family safe and tell your children of your heroism, thanks to which Israeli citizens can sleep peacefully at night. The mission of those who wish for our demise will not be successful."