Family, friends mourn slain soldier
Father of soldier killed in stabbing attack evokes his son's insistence on serving at the Crossings Unit because he wanted to 'contribute more'
Family and friends flocked to the Kahane house in Kiryat Tivon in northern Israel to offer their condolences for the loss of Nir Kahane at the Kalandiya crossing near Jerusalem Thursday afternoon.
Nir, 20, died of wounds sustained by a knife-wielding Palestinian at the crossing north of Jerusalem.
“He could have joined a regular unit, because of his low medical profile, yet he wanted to do something important,” Nir’s father Baruch said.
Nir is the second of three children. He left behind two brothers, Ran, 24, and Ziv, 9.
Baruch spoke of his son’s insistence to be removed from the Military Police to serve in the Crossings unit, citing his urge to “contribute more.”
“Unfortunately he contributed the most precious thing. Nir was thin, very thin, but he had a great soul. He helped everyone,” the father added.
'The country needs you'
Nir was on leave from Sunday till Wednesday, when his father drove him to the bus station in Haifa. “He told me that there are warnings of attacks, that the job is grueling, dangerous and unpleasant but he is doing it despite everything. For us this was anxiety 24 hours a day,” Baruch said.
“The unit, which mans crossings, at the forefront, has lost one of its soldiers in a terrible murder. These are the soldiers who allow the Palestinians to earn a living. They are in the battlefront and are working in agonizing conditions,” a military source told Ynet.
Nir was stabbed at around 15:45 pm when a terrorist arrived at the crossing and attacked him as he checked luggage belonging to Palestinians. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate him yet, he was pronounced dead soon after.
Soldiers succeeded in arresting the Palestinian stabber, 29, who was transferred to the security services for interrogation.
The IDF closed the crossing in the wake of the attack.
Friends spoke of Nir as a computer aficionado, who spent most of his free time pursuing his hobby.
“The country needs you. It is very difficult, yet there is no alternative,” said Guy Wittenberg, a friend of Nir’s.
Nir will be buried at the Kiryat Tivon Military Cemetery Friday afternoon.
