Gov't honors Anglo brothers on Remembrance Day

Adam and Gideon Weiler, who made aliya and then were killed during their IDF service, honored at Knesset ceremony.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Weiler Family 370 (photo credit: Defense Ministry)
Weiler Family 370
(photo credit: Defense Ministry)
The government honored two Anglo brothers who made aliya and fell during their IDF service in Tuesday night’s Remembrance Day ceremony at the Knesset.
As a part of the official memorial ceremony, a short documentary was aired about Adam and Gideon Weiler, who immigrated to Israel from Johannesburg with their parents and four siblings in 1957 and were killed in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, respectively.
Maj. Adam Weiler enlisted in the IDF in 1962, and interrupted studies at the University of Sussex to return to Israel and fight in the Six Day War in 1967. He was killed in 1970 at age 26, while serving as a tanks company commander near the Suez Canal.
Maj. Gideon Weiler enlisted in the IDF in 1968, joining the Armored Corps, like his brother.
When Adam was killed in the War of Attrition, Gideon was made a tanks instructor, but was moved to fight in the Golan Heights in the Yom Kippur War. Gideon was killed at age 23, on the third day of the Yom Kippur War, in a battle with Syrian tanks.
Another documentary was aired about Gad Marsheh, who made aliya from Ethiopia in 1981 and served as the first Jewish tracker in the IDF. He died in 2000 at age 29, while trying to neutralize a bomb in southern Gaza.
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Over 3,000 people gathered in the third annual national Remembrance Day ceremony at the Knesset, titled “Singing in their Memory.” The ceremony was held in the plaza in front of the Knesset, and sponsored by the Knesset, Defense Ministry and Welfare and Social Services Ministry.
In addition to documentaries about the fallen, the ceremony at the Knesset featured singers David Broza, Udi Davidi, Lior Narkis, Netanella, Kabra Kasai and Pablo Rosenberg performing classic Israeli songs in honor of those who died in battle. IDF bands and Chief IDF Cantor Shai Abramson joined in the performances.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Welfare and Social Services Minister Moshe Kahlon, Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Yair Naveh, Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen Yohanan Danino and others read poetry by and about fallen soldiers, and told the stories behind each one.