Some of the victims leave behind large families

Five soldiers killed in Lebanon are mourned, including 3 religious Zionist teachers

Among the dead are beloved Jerusalem school rabbi, volunteer who gave stranger a kidney, ex-PM Bennett’s son’s teacher, called up mid-class; all in reserves for nearly a year

Family and friends of Captain (res.) Avraham Yosef Goldberg, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)
Family and friends of Captain (res.) Avraham Yosef Goldberg, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Friends and colleagues paid tributes Sunday to five soldiers who died in battle against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon the previous evening, including teacher Cpt. (res.) Rabbi Avraham Yosef Goldberg, the beloved rabbi of a Jerusalem high school, as well as two other religious Zionist educators.

The battle, in which 14 other soldiers were wounded fighting Hezbollah operatives, also took the lives of Master Sgt. (res) Gilad Elmaliach, 30, from Jerusalem; Cpt. (res.) Amit Chayut, 29, from Haifa; Maj. (res.) Eliav Amram Abitbol, 36, from Eitan; and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shaul Moyal, 47, from the Karnei Shomron area.

Twenty-four soldiers were killed over the past week, including one who on Sunday succumbed to wounds sustained in the Gaza Strip earlier this month. The deaths this week have left 56 children bereft of a parent, according to Channel 12 news.

On Sunday night, family and friends gathered at the Mount Herzl military cemetery to bury Goldberg, a resident of Jerusalem and a teacher at the Himmelfarb High School, of which he himself was a graduate.

Goldberg spent 260 days in reserve duty since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught that started the ongoing war.

He is survived by his wife Rachel — an Israeli born to American parents, whose father, Rabbi Zvi Wolff, taught for many years at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem — and their eight children.

Cpt. (res.) Rabbi Avraham Yosef Goldberg, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon on October 26, 2024, in an undated photo provided by the Israeli military. (IDF)

In statements eulogizing Goldberg, some noted that the educator, who served as a military rabbi, did not see a contradiction between his army service and his religious study, and some made pointed comments about the exemption from mandatory service received by many ultra-Orthodox men who study full-time.

“The nation of Israel lost someone very dear today, my beloved brother-in-law, a scholar and educator of the highest order,” said Yoni Wolff.

He continued: “I am crying out on behalf of my sister Rachel, and the wives of reserve soldiers who are crying from the heart, the way of the Torah is to go and fight.”

Wolff addressed “everyone who’s involved with the draft law,” aiming to preserve the exemption, saying: “Don’t support this law, there are great scholars who go and fight — that’s the way of the Torah.

“Anyone who wants to learn Torah should learn Torah, but don’t expect that the State of Israel, and families like my sister’s, with eight orphaned children, will pay for it.”

In a long post on X on Sunday night, Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu wrote that Goldberg was “the embodiment of what the Kotzker Rebbe called ‘the Torah of truth’ — not an abstract truth, but rather truth that is manifested within a painful, complicated, almost impossible reality.

“His eight bereaved children are a testament to this, that it’s possible to raise a family with Torah and piety even when the father serves in the army. His wife, the widow, testifies that it’s possible to build a home of Torah, even when your husband is bearing the weight of the state’s security,” Eliyahu said.

Family and friends of Captain (res.) Avraham Yosef Goldberg, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Naftali Bennett mourns son’s teacher

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shaul Moyal, 47, from the Alonei Shilo outpost in the West Bank, was eulogized by the area’s regional council head, Yehonatan Koznitz, as someone who “stood heroically in the mission to defend the homeland.”

He is survived by his wife and 10 children.

Moyal, also a teacher, taught science in a school in Ra’anana, where he counted among his students a son of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who eulogized him as “Rabbi Shaul,” as he was known to his students.

The former premier shared a video on X, sent by Moyal to students at the start of the festive month of Adar, in which the teacher performs a silly song and dance, and declares that “more than anything else in the world, I love teaching you.”

Along with the video, Bennett recalled that “about a month ago, [my son] David came home from school upset: in the middle of science class, the wonderful Rabbi Shaul Moyal had received an order to report immediately for reserve duty. So he had to end class in the middle.”

“Just this past Friday, my family and I visited friends in that tiny, special settlement. It seemed just about empty of men, because most of them are in reserves,” Bennett added.

IDF reservists killed during fighting in southern Lebanon on October 26, 2024: From left: Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shaul Moyal, Master Sgt. (res.) Gilad Elmaliach, Cpt. (res.) Rabbi Avraham Yosef Goldberg, Cpt. (res.) Amit Chayut, , Maj. (res.) Eliav Amram Abitbol. (Courtesy)

A school teacher who donated his kidney to a child

Maj. (res.) Eliav Amram Abitbol, 36, was also a teacher, at a religious school in Rishon Lezion in central Israel, and was eulogized by his school as “a teacher who was devoted, and beloved by his students.” He is survived by his wife and their four children.

“Eliav and his wife Tal always volunteered, they were full of giving,” said Abitbol’s sister, Aderet, according to the Ynet news site. “They volunteered with children at the day care center, and they did it with full hearts. Wherever there was a need to volunteer, Eliav was there.

“He was always looking for somewhere it was possible to help out. He was in the reserves almost all year, with less than a two-month break. On October 7 [2023], he was called up, and he’s been fighting since,” she added.

Obituaries in Hebrew media noted that two years ago, Abitbol donated his kidney to a 12-year-old girl he had never met, saving her life.

Captain (res.) Amit Chayut, who was killed battling Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on October 26, 2024, in an undated photo released by the Israeli military. (IDF)

A “heart of gold” who spent 300 days in reserves

Cpt. (res.) Amit Chayut, 29, from Haifa, was tearfully eulogized on Sunday by his brother, Dvir, who called him “a wonderful man with a heart of gold, smiling, responsible and noble. Always surrounded by friends,” according to Ynet.

Chayut is survived by his Dvir and two other brothers — Ronen and Moshe — as well as his parents, Tzipi and Yehoshua.

A graduate of the Yavneh yeshiva in Haifa, Chayut studied for a year and a half at a pre-military academy before enlisting in the Golani Brigade. He graduated from the IDF officer’s course with honors, and following his service earned a dual degree from the Technion in math and computer science.

He spent more than 300 days in reserve duty following October 7, his family said. They also noted that he and his partner Shiri were planning to get married.

Chayut was buried on Sunday at the military cemetery in Haifa.

Family and friends of Master Sgt. (res.) Gilad Elmaliach, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, attend his funeral at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Father of five who “never neglected anyone”

Master Sgt. (res.) Gilad Elmaliach, 30, from Jerusalem, was remembered Sunday by his brother-in-law as someone who “always saw the ‘invisible people,’ took care of the elderly, of Holocaust survivors, and never neglected anyone.”

Elmaliach is survived by his wife, Shir, and their five children, including a 4-month-old son.

“Gilad was such a serious man — there was nothing he did without considering whether it was the right or the wrong thing to do. But when he was with you, he would be joking, easy-going until the end,” his brother-in-law said, according to Ynet.

He was buried on Mount Herzl on Sunday evening.

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