Wearing his son's uniform shirt while standing over his fresh grave, Zvika Greenglick saluted his son, Captain (res.) Shaul Greenglick, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds attended the funeral, which took place at the Ra'anana Cemetary, and paid their final respects to the officer, who fell on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.
The bereaved father eulogized: "Shauli, my beloved son, my friend, and my teacher. You were sharper than I in all fields. People came to hear about you. If we had gathered two days ago, they would have wanted to hear you; now they want to hear you.
You were in the right place at the right time, and you did the right thing. You believed in it. We aren't strong people; we won't say that it isn't difficult for us. That it wasn't difficult for us when you chose to enlist with all your might, but we were so proud of you. You said that you would look out for yourself and the soldiers; you said that the soldiers were most important, and you were up for the task whenever it came to the soldiers."
He added: "At your age, you managed to leave a mark on the family and many others. I will be missing a friend. He had a genetic defect that he couldn't see at night. You were afraid that the army would find out about it."
Shaul's mother, Ruti, lamented: "You were sad after October 7th. You said that you wanted to return to the country that you loved so much. You loved people, and so you were glad to go to war, not because you loved the army, and certainly not the war, but because you loved life."
She added: "My Shauli, you made me into a bereaved mother and, at the same moment, the proudest mother in the world. I am proud of your choice and your good. I thank G-d for the loan that you gave me for 26 years. Go, my beloved child, my angel, to your next position to watch over us from above. With a heavy heart, I return the loan to G-d. I understand why you want him next to you."
Greenglick performed several weeks ago in Israel’s Rising Star, singing Hanan Ben Ari’s song “Blind Bat.” After the audition, he announced that he was dropping out of the competition “in favor of an old dream, to fight for my country.”
After the audition, Greenglick decided to withdraw from the competition and fight in Gaza, explaining his decision in a message: "I imagined this year differently; a year of ambitions and fulfilling dreams. Now I am living an old dream, to fight for my country, and we are currently in the middle of the night ... a new dream and another dream will have to wait a little longer. Thank you for the warm and encouraging words and for the good reviews. I hope this period passes and that it will pass quickly."
He added: "I promise to continue fighting for this country that I love and for my dreams in the future. At the moment, there is only one thing on my mind, and that is to continue fighting in the darkness until we see the light. This is the end of our broadcasts for the upcoming season."
The show's production commented: "Our heart is broken. The Keshet 12 family and Teddy Productions are saddened by the death of Shaul Greenglick, a combat officer in the Nahal Brigade who fell today in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. Shaul participated in the current season of Rising Star. His singing moved us to tears. We send our sincere condolences and share in the deep sorrow of the family and friends. The next episode of Rising Star will be dedicated to Shaul, of blessed memory".
Assi Azar, the host of the program, wrote: "Dear Shaul fell in Gaza. We met only twice, in the interview before the audition for Rising Star and at the audition itself. These were short meetings, but you didn't need more than that to feel the magic in him. He was a smiling man. The kind of person you immediately want to be your friend. He was a singer with grace, with kind eyes. And now he is gone. I would like to send my condolences, on behalf of myself and the entire production team, to his family. Our hearts are all filled with sorrow. I wish this nightmare would end already. May his memory be blessed."
