At funeral, wife of Tal Haimi who died defending kibbutz tells him she’s ‘proud to be your widow’

At Tal Haimi’s funeral in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, his wife Ela Haimi says she planned this day “so many times, waited for it for so long.”

In December 2023, when Haimi was notified by the IDF that her husband had been killed, his body taken captive, she held a funeral and sat shiva, burying his bloodied helmet in order to offer her young children a sense of closure.

“I said goodbye to you this afternoon; you came back to us clothed and whole,” says Haimi, who gave birth to the couple’s fourth child after it was determined that her husband was killed. “I touched every part of you, and you’d be glad to know that even the shirt of Support Company 9255 was with you — and survived.”

Haimi says she told her husband’s body what the family had been through over the last two years, reviewing each of their children.

“There’s one child you didn’t get to meet, but he already knows you well,” says Haimi, referring to her youngest, Lotan. “I played you a recording of him saying “Abba” and giggling — I hope you could hear it.”

“In no scenario did I imagine giving birth to and raising a baby without you — but then I look at him, and everything becomes a little more possible,” she says.

Ela speaks of the details she’s learned of the battle Tal fought on October 7, his bravery and heroism. She speaks of his merits as a husband, partner and father.

“Tal, I was proud to be your wife,” she says. “I am proud to be your widow. Thank you for 22 shared years.”

She tells her husband that even with his return, it will take time for their community and country to recover and reunite. She asks the country’s leaders to make Israel a better place, a safe place to live.