Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi's father: "I did everything I could but it wasn't enough"

Thousands arrived on Thursday to the military cemetery in Kfar Saba to accompany Staff Sergeant Tamir Nimrodi on his final journey. Nimrodi was abducted on October 7 and murdered in Hamas captivity. 

The funeral procession departed from Nirit, Nimrodi's place of residence, who served as an Education NCO at the Gaza DCO base.

Alon Nimrodi eulogized his son Tamir, saying, "How many times have I spoken, how many times have I told about you, how many times have I given speeches, how many times have I cried out. And now? Now I can't find the words, I don't know what to write," he said at the beginning of his remarks. 

"Exactly two years ago, our world collapsed with the murderous Hamas attack in which you, my beloved, were kidnapped. From the very first moment it was clear you had been kidnapped and I saw your beautiful and gentle face with a look of terror and fear as the terrorists beat you and your friends, Ron Sherman and Nick Baizer, of blessed memory, I understood that I was setting out to wage a battle to bring you home, to bring your smile back."

“I fought, we fought, all of us, in every possible way. We reached every corner of the world to talk about you, to tell what an amazing and principled boy you are and that we must not give up on you. I told every prime minister, president, minister, pope, and religious and world leader that you and the hostages are the future of the world, not just of Israel. I said everywhere that everything must be done to bring you back. Even when I was recovering from leg surgery, or on the day when a disc in my back ruptured, I didn’t give up; I pushed on with all my strength, enduring excruciating pain just so you would come back home safe and sound. That’s what I thought. That’s what I hoped for. That’s what I believed in, and that’s what I fought for, for 740 days.”

His father continued to painfully describe the two years that have passed since Tamir's abduction. "Two years of hell, with no air to breathe, with one clear goal: to bring you home. My Tamir, what a magical child you were—witty, smart, verbal, with a melting smile and a hug that could break ribs. A hug I miss so much. How you would come up behind me, eyes still sleepy after a good rest, shout, 'Abu, give me a hug,' and you wouldn't wait for my answer but would come over and hug me tightly, warmly, powerfully. I used to tell you, 'Tamiro, you're going to break my ribs.' Now I'm willing to do anything for you to break all my ribs with your hug. Just hug me," said the bereaved father.

Alon continued to recall memories from the past, saying, "How on Friday nights or during vacations, after dinner, I would invite Mika and Amit to watch shows or funny movies with you. Your rolling laughter with your sisters would shake the house. The laughter and conversations with them would go on until the early morning, and I would send you a text message, 'Tamiru, can we have a bit of quiet, please?' And today, I beg you to make some noise for me, to laugh out loud, all day and all night. Just laugh."

He continued, saying, "How when you used to come back from the base on Friday mornings, you would ask to stop for shawarma, you would send me a never-ending shopping list so I could make the food you love and try new recipes that come to your mind. I’ll bring you a whole supermarket as a gift, just come back on your feet, my beloved."

Alon shared that his son Tamir was an anxious child and teenager who took medication for anxiety and abandoned it when he enlisted. Despite the difficulty, he bravely fought his own fears. "How, just minutes after you were kidnapped, with that same look of terror on your face, you pulled yourself together and devised a quick and clever plan that you thought might help you escape. Help you avoid being beaten by the human beasts who kidnapped you. You made a brilliant move that was kept secret until now and will still be talked about. Unfortunately, and to our immense heartbreak, it didn't help," he said sorrowfully.

"The building where you were held was bombed, and you took with you dozens of cursed terrorists. You know, my beloved son, when I spoke with your mother in heartbreaking tears on that cursed day, around 16:00, when it was clear to us beyond any doubt that you had been kidnapped — as we saw in the Hamas videos — I told your mother, 'It’s good that he was kidnapped and not killed; he will surely come home healthy and whole.' How wrong I was," he said.

"My Tamir, I did everything, I swear, everything I could, everything I couldn't. Maybe it wasn't enough."

"My beautiful and pure child, your life was cut short at the height of your blooming, in the dazzling stages of your new life, with so many friends, with so many uplifting activities. And how many hearts you touched, how many people you touched in the last year of your life, when you began to create a close social circle, like in the note you wrote — you wanted love so much, you wanted company. And you didn’t get the chance. There is so much love I have, we have, to give you. So many girls longed for your return and said they loved you. How did you not get the chance."

My dear Tamir, I'm sorry that I couldn't bring you back home safe and sound. I wish I could have done more, changed things.

The bereaved father shared his pain and apologized to his late son, saying,"I will always carry in my heart the feelings of guilt that I pushed you to enlist. I told you that in our house there is no such thing as draft dodging. I did not stand my ground and did not oppose your posting on the Gaza border. Forgive me, my firstborn son, forgive me."

“My Tamir, our small consolation is that you probably did not suffer, you took with you some cursed terrorists and ascended to the heavens immediately. Actually, you did suffer, for a little more than 48 hours you were in the hands of your terrible captors and not in the loving arms of your sisters, not in the safe arms of Mom and Dad. You know, now we have another close social circle. The circle of the families of the hostages. The circle of bereavement,” he added.

At the end of his remarks, he thanked the IDF soldiers, those who acted for the return of the hostages, and for the people of Israel. He also asked to remember and not forget the 19 fallen hostages who are still being held captive in Gaza.

In conclusion, he said, "At the beginning of the war, the families of the hostages were asked to send voice recordings of our loved ones so that voice identification could be used in the effort to locate them. It was difficult for us to find a recording of your voice, and with the help of your friends, they sent us a very short video clip of an outing you had together, in which you say to your friends, 'Chaser? Chaser? Chaser?' With a voice identification like that, we wanted to find you. 

So I will raise a shot glass for you and in your memory, my dear and beloved son, with your open vodka bottle that is with me and waiting for you to come back — though I don’t even drink vodka myself. Until your return, I would raise a glass to your health every day, in every situation. Now, I will raise a glass in your memory, my precious son, my hero of Israel, I salute you."

Mayor Rafi Sa'ar also said, "This is a day of deep pain and unspeakable sorrow. Thousands of residents of Kfar Saba parted today from Staff Sergeant Tamir Nimrodi, of blessed memory – a young soldier who was kidnapped, murdered in captivity, and whose life was brutally cut short. Kfar Saba bows its head and embraces the Nimrodi family with great love. We continue to wait and long for the swift return of the remaining 19 abducted fallen held in Gaza, among them two sons of Kfar Saba – Oz Daniel and Hadar Goldin. We will not rest until they have all come home."