"He has a rare and giving soul," Cohen's father said at the funeral to Maariv, The Jerusalem Post's sister newspaper. "We are very strong, the people of Israel are very strong, we have undergone holocausts, pogroms and troubles, our history is full of blood, and where are we today? Beyond all disputes we are one people and love will prevail," Rabbi Eliyahu Meirav, Cohen’s step-father said at the funeral, according to Maariv. Speaking to the Post on Thursday night, Rabbi Meirav, described the family’s grief and related Yosef’s comments from last Shabbat.“We lost the most beloved thing of all, what can I say. We are broken and crushed. But we are also very strong. We are believing Jews,” said Meirav. “Last Shabbat, we sat together and we have a custom of saying what we are thankful for.Sweet Yossi, righteous, holy Yossi, may he rest in peace, said ‘I thank God for the merit He has given me to defend the Jewish people with my body,’” he continued. “Those were the last words he said here in our house,” he said tearfully. “What a soul he was. That was the essence of the child.”Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.הלוויה, סמל יוסף (יוסי) כהן, היום בירושלים pic.twitter.com/iuzQaqLDJ6
— OrianeCO (@Oriane_CO) December 14, 2018
Hundreds mourn slain 19-year-old Corporal Yosef Cohen in Jerusalem
The lone soldier's funeral took place in Jerusalem's Shamgar Funeral Home and then Har Hazeitim on Friday.
