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| Jonathan Luber HY"D |
Hagai Luber, whose son was killed fighting in Gaza, condemned chants against Israel’s military and state after witnessing them during a religious gathering at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Luber, chief executive of the Aspeklaria Theater and the father of Jonathan Luber, an Israeli soldier killed in combat in the Gaza Strip in late 2023, described the episode in a social media post published Monday night.
He said he traveled to the Meron shrine to observe the Zot Hanukkah pilgrimage, a tradition his son loved, and joined thousands of worshippers in song and dance.
“I imagined your face in every bearded countenance,” Luber wrote, addressing his son. “I danced with joy, and you were with me.”
The atmosphere shifted suddenly, he said, when a speaker called for blessings for those imprisoned for refusing military service and denounced the army. Dancers then chanted slogans rejecting Israel’s government and the military draft.
Luber said he withdrew from the crowd, overcome with pain.
“My son, whom they call ‘impure,’ would have stood with his body to protect them,” he wrote. “Because he reported for duty, he took the bullet — instead of their wives and children.”
Jonathan Luber was killed while serving in the Israel Defense Forces during the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Despite his grief, Luber said he remained to pray with the crowd.
“I mourned among them,” he wrote. “And I knew that in his righteousness, he would ask for mercy even for those who rejected him.”
As worshippers recited the Shema Yisrael prayer, Luber said he nearly collapsed while declaring the final word.
“I was there,” he wrote, “alone.”
