US envoy honors memory of Hadar Goldin, fallen US and IDF soldiers at July 4 event

The American ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, hosted his first Independence Day reception as US envoy on Monday evening, giving Israeli officials and guests a red carpet welcome at his residence in the coastal city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

The event, live streamed on Facebook, included live performances, speeches by Friedman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an offering of such “American food” as hamburgers, pizza and ice cream, and fireworks.

In his remarks before some 1,600 guests to mark the US’s 241st Independence Day on July 4, Friedman honored the memories of Hadar Goldin — an IDF soldier and US citizen killed during the 2014 summer war and whose remains, along with those of another IDF soldier, Oron Shaul, are being held by Hamas — and other fallen Israeli and American forces.

One of the values that unites the US and Israel is the “honor and respect for the sacrifices of those who have preceded us,” said Friedman, who also told the audience that among the artwork in the residence “is a beautiful painting by Hadar Goldin, whose parents are here tonight and who still grieve not just for their lost son but because his remains have not yet been returned.”

Despite never recovering their bodies, the Israeli army has established that both Goldin and Shaul were killed in separate incidents during the summer 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. It maintains that the remains were seized by the terrorist group as bargaining chips. There have been several reports of negotiations over the years for the return of the remains.

In his speech Monday, Friedman said: “Let us take a moment to reflect upon Hadar and upon every soldier of the US armed forces and Israeli defense forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of their nations. We are here only because of their service, their bravery and their sacrifice, we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”

On the stage next to Netanyahu and his wife Sara, Friedman also made a special mention of the 41st anniversary of the death of Yoni Netanyahu, the older brother of the Israeli leader, who was killed on July 4, 1976, leading the rescue of Israeli hostages held by terrorists at Entebbe airport in Uganda.

Friedman began his speech with a bit of humor, telling the audience that the evening’s events “bore no resemblance” to another party he hosted in Israel 45 years ago — his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

He called the US and Israel “two shining cities on a hill, drawn together by a shared history, shared values and, I believe, a shared destiny of continued greatness.”

The US and Israel “have the most special of special relationships; we have common enemies that unite us, we have extraordinary military and intelligence cooperation that unites us, we have cultural exchanges, international trade and even a cybersecurity group formed just this past week that unites us,” he said.

Peppering his speech with American-accented Hebrew, he wished a “Yom ha’atzmaut sameah le’Artzot Habrit [happy independence day to the United States]” and quoted from Psalms in a reference to recent US efforts to relaunch peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The Lord will give strength unto his people, the Lord will bless his nation with peace,” he said, first in Hebrew then in English, adding that his father would quote that sentence from Psalms 29 “every Shabbat morning as he concluded his services.”

“King David, some 3,000 years ago, had recognized something very profound, that we can all want to be blessed with peace, we can only achieve this peace if we are strong,” he said, adding that the “fundamental principle of peace through strength…is a fundamental principle of the Trump administration.”

“May we all succeed in achieving peace through strength in the years ahead,” he concluded to applause, before introducing Netanyahu, who also praised Israeli-US ties and the Trump administration.