‘Why do we deserve this?’ mother of fallen soldier asks at funeral

Hundreds of people attend funeral of Shir Hajaj, one of the four soldiers killed in yesterday’s terror attack, at the country’s military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

“What a beauty God gave us. How proud we were of you. Our Shir. Why do we deserve this? Why? What will we do without you?” Hajaj’s mother, Meirav, asks at the ceremony.

Hundreds of soldiers from Hajaj’s unit, Military Intelligence, attend the funeral, along with residents of her hometown of Maale Adumim, classmates, prominent rabbi Shlomo Amar, MKs Moti Yogev and Omer Bar-Lev, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and the head of the Maale Adumim regional council, Channel 2 news reports.

The commander of her department, Lt. Col. Asaf Weiss, remembers Hajaj for being determined and unrelenting in pursuing her goal of being in the academic reserve, earning a university degree as part of her army service.

After missing an interview due to a trip abroad, Hajaj pestered the army into giving her a make-up interview and, upon its completion, was ranked first among the applicants for the program, Weiss says.

“She will leave behind her a hole that will remain forever,” he says.

The other three soldiers are being buried in funerals across the country.