President Reuven Rivlin (right) meets with the parents of slain IDF lone soldiers in New York, January 2015. (photo credit: President's Spokesperson)
President Reuven Rivlin on Monday met with the families of American IDF lone soldiers who were slain in last summer’s war in the Gaza Strip.
Rivlin and his wife, who were in New York City to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the United Nations, met with Evie and Stuart Steinberg, parents of Sgt. Max Steinberg, and Rachel and David Adir, parents of Lt. Liran Adir, two of the 66 soldiers killed in the 50-day conflict.
“The citizens of the State of Israel, and the Jewish people as a whole, owe you a debt which can never be repaid. You have lost what was most precious to you,” Rivlin told the parents. “You have endured the unthinkable, the loss of a child. We share in your grief, we share in your pain, and indeed, we share in your pride, that your dear children were dedicated to defending the Jewish people, and the Jewish homeland.”
Steinberg, 24, a southern California native who was spurred to immigrate to Israel by a Birthright Israel trip three years ago, was killed in a Hamas attack on his armored personnel carrier. Adir, 31, an armored corps officer, was killed by mortar fire near the border with the Gaza Strip.
“Your children are our children, and we promise to preserve their brave legacy as defenders of the people and the country,” Rivlin said.
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President Reuven Rivlin and his wife meet with the parents of slain IDF lone soldiers in New York, January 2015. (photo credit: President’s Spokesperson)
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