Israel Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon Tweets About Hadar Goldin

**Fallen Family:* 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed in action on Friday, was a distant relative of Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Image by Getty Images
Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon tweeted out condolences to the family of Hadar Goldin, the IDF soldier believed to be held captive by Hamas but who was killed in action on Friday.
Goldin, a British-born member of the Givati Brigade, was a distant relative of Ya’alon’s. The 23-year-old had gotten engaged only weeks before the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.
“[Second Lt.] Hadar Goldin is a member of my family,” the minister tweeted. “I have known him since he was born. He and the fallen IDF fighters have gone to battle to restore calm and security to Israel. I hug their families.”
הדר גולדין ז”ל הוא בן משפחתי. הכרתי אותו מאז שנולד. הוא ולוחמי צה”ל שנפלו יצאו למערכה כדי להשיב את השקט והביטחון לישראל. אני מחבק את המשפחות
— Moshe Bogie Ya’alon (@bogie_yaalon) August 3, 2014
Ya’alon reportedly visited the family on Saturday.
Haaretz reports that thousands attended Hadar Goldin’s funeral, held in Kfar Saba on Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly spoke with Simcha and Lea Goldin, the fallen lieutenant’s parents. “Hadar was a magnificent person, a great hero,” he said. “I know you’re going through hell, a feeling that a part of you has been taken and that you are no longer whole. It’s a pain which doesn’t let go for a second. I hope you’ll find consolation in that his death has served the people of Israel in our battle for independence.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 3
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
- 4
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion The ADL reversed its support for Trump’s student deportations. You should too
-
Fast Forward Senate rejects Bernie Sanders’ proposal to block some weapons sales to Israel
-
Fast Forward Sotheby’s to auction earliest known kiddush cup
-
Opinion Trump’s new tariffs on Israel are a BDS dream come true
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.