From a Brother’s Eulogy
From The Jerusalem Post, Ofer Regev in his eulogy for his brother Eldad:
“I’m proud to belong to those who love and not to those who hate,” Ofer Regev, brother of fallen soldier Eldad Regev, who was returned in Wednesday’s prisoner swap with Hizbullah, said at Eldad’s funeral Thursday.
Ofer began his eulogy with a quote from a song by Israeli rock idol Shalom Hanoch: “A strange man, your enemy, exactly like you / You know he does not want to die, exactly like you.”
“We lived in a world where we believed our enemy was exactly like us,” Ofer continued. “We thought we could speak to people who also wanted to raise a child, grow a flower, love a girl, exactly like us. But the enemy proved it is not like us. And still, we will not stop trying.”
“I stand here today sad, crying, but proud; proud of my country that fought with me to bring you back, proud of every citizen who thought of you, Eldad, as his brother. I’m proud to belong to those who love and not to those who hate. And to the entire nation who paid a high price with clenched teeth, they know that camaraderie has no price.”
