Tens of thousands attend American lone soldier's funeral in Haifa

Among those in attendance were many fans of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team, the fallen soldier's Carmeli's favorite team.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Sgt. Sean Carmeli (photo credit: TAZPIT)
Sgt. Sean Carmeli
(photo credit: TAZPIT)
Tens of thousands attended the funeral of IDF lone soldier from the United States Sgt. Sean Carmeli in Haifa on Monday night. 
Carmeli had dual US, Israeli citizenship and was a lone soldier serving in Israel.
Among those in attendance were many fans of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team who came to give their last respects to Carmeli who was a big fan of the club.  Calls on the team's social media pages encouraged fans to attend.
The small Texas town of South Padre Island, was in mourning on Sunday after Sgt. Sean Carmeli's name was cleared for publication as one of the thirteen soldiers from the Golani brigade who were killed in a clash with Hamas. He was 21-years-old when he was killed. Born to Israeli parents, Alon and Dalya, who now live in the US, he was a returning citizen who chose to stay in Israel when his parents moved to Texas for work; he has two sisters, Or and Gal.
According to The Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center's Facebook page, Carmeli was a returning citizen who came to Israel to "strengthen, unite, and define what it means to be a Jew today."