Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: This year too, I met with the Rebbe’s emissary, Rabbi Or Ziv, who brought the tefillin with him. Each time for another warrior, another beloved son, another hero of Israel. Each year, a different story. A different heart. A world and more.

“This year, I merited to lay the tefillin of our hero Sean Karmeli, z”l.

“Sean, a lone soldier who came from the United States to defend the State of Israel, chose to tie his fate to our people’s fate. Out of deep faith, out of a mission. He fell in battle in Gaza—but his spirit continues to live on in us, in the heart of the nation.

‘When I lay his tefillin, I feel the deep connection between the generations. Between a tradition of thousands of years and the heroism of our time. Between a silent prayer and an act of ultimate self-sacrifice.

“In this moment, with the straps wrapped around my hand and heart, I offer a quiet prayer in his memory, in memory of all our fallen, and for the future of our people in this land.

“And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you.”

“May the memory of our fallen be blessed and cherished in our hearts forever.”