'I'm willing to go to prison': Bereaved father issues ultimatum

Hundreds of family members, friends, and others arrived on Sunday at the Hod Hasharon Military Cemetery to pay final respects to 20-year-old Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, who fell in battle during the shooting attack at Judea Junction near Hebron. During the funeral, Yuval's sister, Shira, spoke about her decision not to allow the terrorists to break her spirit. "You will always be engraved in my heart. I will not give the terrorists the pleasure of breaking my spirit," she stated. She described the close relationship with her brother and the shared memories of him: "Only you and I know how we felt about each other. Only we know your and my small gestures. A language of secrets between us, a language of actions. We also knew how to cover for each other, to laugh at each other, and to listen." She promised to remember him: "Don't worry, of course, I'm calming only myself. The external terrorists will not be able to tarnish what you were for us and for others." Amnon Svilem, Yuval's father, eulogized his son during the funeral and called on the state to deport the families of the terrorists who carried out the attack. "Those damned terrorists took the law into their own hands. They didn't care about Yuval, they didn't care about us, and they didn't care about anyone around them. They shattered an entire family, shattered several families, and took everything from us." He appealed to the government and the judiciary: "I am asking you, we are not living anymore. I am asking you to have the state take their families and not leave them in this country. I don't want to hear that they are still here. I hope that by the end of the shiva, I will know that they are no longer here. I am begging you." He cried out: "We are here burying our child, while they are eating baklava at our expense. The Palestinian Authority will provide them with another home. Their house will be demolished, but that's not enough. Those wicked people should not be here." According to Svilem, deporting the terrorists' family members could deter future attackers. "If there were a deportation law, I promise you that his wife would have run to the army, his father and brothers would have run to the army. Things cannot go on like this. They would know what would happen to them. We need to wake up. They need to understand that this will not happen anymore." He then described the devastating loss suffered by the families following the attack. "They took our souls. We are all dead. They didn't just hurt Yuval and the other soldier. We are all dead, we are dead. And I hope they will not be allowed to live in this country." The father warned that if the authorities failed to take action against the terrorists' families, he might act himself. "And if the state doesn't do its job, and if the army doesn't do its job, we will have to take the law into our own hands. This cannot be." Later in his eulogy, Amnon criticized the judicial system and the handling of the olive harvest season in Judea and Samaria. "Politics is dirty. The courts are doing things that are wrong. Unfortunately, the army has to prepare during this period, during the olive harvest. Every single year, anarchists come and cause trouble in our country, and we remain silent. People come from outside and cause trouble. Why? To incite the Palestinians?" He continued, arguing that activists arriving in the area fuel tensions and that soldiers ultimately pay the price. "They don't want to leave. People come from outside and stir them up. Every photographer comes and photographs them to provoke them, and in the end, what happens? Who gets hurt? The soldiers here get hurt." He again emphasized the need for change. "Every year there is an olive harvest, every year they cause trouble, every year soldiers are hurt. Enough already, enough." He then returned to his demand to deport the terrorists' families. "They need to understand one thing: Just as those damned terrorists didn't think about us, they need to understand that their families will not remain in this country. They will not celebrate at our expense." The father again warned that he might take action himself if the state did not meet his demand. "And if the state doesn't do it, we will take the law into our own hands. This is my army, Yuval's army, and the army of all the soldiers and all the bereaved families. Enough of this already. Let's put an end to it." He went on to express hope that his son would be the last soldier to fall and that no additional families would join the ranks of the bereaved. "I hope Yuval will be the last soldier, and that we will not hear of any more sorrow." Toward the end of the eulogy, he once again appealed to the state and the judiciary, emphasizing the heavy personal price he had paid. "And if the army and the state don't know how to do their job, I, who gave them my diamond, I gave them my diamond, I hope the state will hear me, that the court will hear me, and that they will remove them from the country by the end of the shiva." He added a stark warning: "And if not, I will go; I will take the law into my own hands. I am willing to go to prison for it. I will take it all upon myself. I gave up my son, and I want them to give up their lives here in this country. They will not remain here." National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also delivered a eulogy, opening with a Midrash about Moses, who asked G-d to see Rabbi Akiva's reward and was shown the suffering he endured before being executed for sanctifying G-d's name. Ben-Gvir connected the Midrash to the pain over Yuval's death, saying: "I think about this Midrash today, here, before the coffin of the late Yuval Shai, and try to understand how it is possible to bear this pain, how one can stand before a family that has lost what is most precious to them, before parents who sent their son to the army and, instead of welcoming him home, are today embracing his memory." He added: "I have no answer that can truly offer comfort. There are no words that can fill the void left in the family's heart, and no explanation that can make this loss any easier." He then spoke about Yuval's life and military service, emphasizing that his life should not be measured solely by the moment of his death, but also by his decision to serve as a combat soldier and defend the citizens of Israel. Ben-Gvir also shared a personal memory of meeting Yuval: "I remember sweet Yuval, our meeting, the moment he approached me and asked to take a picture with me. I remember a charming, smiling young man, full of warmth, who knew how to approach people, speak to them, and express his appreciation." He went on to discuss the significance of the soldiers' self-sacrifice, saying: "Yuval fell while fulfilling his duty, as part of the chain of generations of those who carry the security of the Jewish people on their shoulders." The minister returned to the story of Rabbi Akiva, who gave his life while reciting the Shema Yisrael prayer, drawing a connection between Jewish faith and the responsibility borne by generations of soldiers to defend the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Later in the eulogy, Ben-Gvir addressed the fight against terrorism and called for tougher measures against terrorists and their families. "Our responsibility is to act decisively against those who choose to harm Israeli civilians and soldiers. We are working to tighten the prison conditions of terrorists, and we will not accept a reality in which those who harmed us and murdered our sons enjoy better conditions," he said. He added: "At the same time, I believe we must also advance decisive measures to distance terrorism from our lives, including the implementation of emigration plans in Judea and Samaria, so that those who seek to harm the people of Israel will no longer be able to endanger our security." He concluded by addressing the Svilem family: "There are no words that can bring Yuval back, and no promise that can make the pain disappear. But know that Yuval will not be forgotten. His heroism, his devotion, and the love that drove him to defend his people will be part of this nation's story." Sergeant Svilem and Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman were killed when two terrorists from Hebron arrived at the Judea Junction on Route 35 and opened fire at the IDF forces operating there. The soldiers engaged the terrorists in a shootout that lasted over 20 minutes. Additional forces that arrived at the scene managed to surround the terrorists and eliminate them. On Sunday morning, several hours before the funeral, Yuval's father, Amnon, spoke with Kan Reshet Bet radio about the difficult moments in which he was notified that his son fell in battle. "Friday was hell. When they came to our home and knocked on the door, we weren't there. My daughter answered. She received the news. They notified us, 'Come home,'" the bereaved father recounted.