(October 14, 2024) Four IDF soldiers were killed when a shell feel on them while clearing an enemy encampment in Gaza on the Tuesday, 11th November 2024. One of them, Staff Sgt. Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat was a B'nei Menashe, 21, from Afula in Northern Israel. Along with him three others, Staff Sgt. Orr Katz,20, from Ma'ale Adumim, Staff Sgt. Nave Yair Asulin, 21, from Carmit and Staff Sgt. Ofir Eliyahu, 20, from Holon fell in the battle. They are all from the Kfir Brigade's Shimshon Battalion. According to reports, it is still being investigated whether it was an explosive device or an anti-tank missile.
His parents Dagan and Shaked are devasted, his father recalls fondly that Gary had always wanted to be a soldier and serve his country, Israel, in the IDF. He was a popular kid in school as well as in the army beloved by all around him, he continues. "I last spoke to him on Sunday night when he said his leg hurt but he was ready to take the call of duty whenever." Despite the apparent grief, he proudly says that he has four children and three of them are serving in the IDF. The youngest will serve when he comes of age, he says defiantly. They are from Kolasib, a town in northern state of Mizoram in north eastern India bordering Myanmar. Gary was on the verge of completing his mandatory military service when the tragedy unfolded. His father told our newsletter that he'd have gone on the serve in the IDF. While Israel is facing continuous attacks from Gaza, in the south and Hezbollah, in the north, several B'nei Menashe
youths are serving in the IDF. The numbers are hard to estimate but it is safe to assume that their number exceeds the others in terms of their proportion to the general population.
The Zolat family came on an aliya to Israel in 2007 when Gary was barely 4 years old. They lived in an absorption center in Carmiel for a while, till shifting to Sderot, after a couple of years, while his parents looked for stable jobs to feed their growing family. It was in 2012 when they decided to move to Afula, their current residence, permanently. After all, there were a lot of Mizo speaking families who had moved there over the years. It was a mix of Gaza evacuees and new olim. There were old friends who lived there, they would feel right at home. It was a right decision, they have been living for over a decade now.
The funeral took place at the Afula Military Cemetery on the 12th of November at 03:30 pm. Among the attendees were the Minister of Aliya & Klita, Ofir Sopher and his deputy director-general, Moshe Pines. The Minister along with the mayor Avi Alkabetz and their commanders gave fitting eulogies to Gary. It was followed by the parents and other family members who poured out their grief and love in Mizo and ably translated by the community rabbi into Hebrew for the masses. The younger ones did not need it, though. It was a huge crowd that attended the funeral in hundreds. Fellow B'nei Menashe who travelled from all over Israel, local residents, many who did not know the family but came out to stand with the family in its time of grief, soldiers from the brigade and many others who were there. Shaked, Gary's mother, summed it all up, "Maker of heaven and the earth, You have given me a beloved son, for whatever it may be worth it was worth taking him away for this noble cause, Israel."
While the social media was filled with unprecedented show of sympathy and outpouring of grief, it may be noted that this is the second fatality the B'nei Menashe have faced (with three other wounded) since the war began last October. They have been covered comprehensively, interested readers may scroll back on our newsletter to read them. The chairman of apex B'nei Menashe body, BMC also sent out a letter of condolences. A screen capture is below:
