Karin Lazar – the mother of slain 18-year-old IDF Sergeant Noa Lazar, who was killed last week in a shooting attack at a checkpoint near Shuafat in East Jerusalem – spoke to Walla! on Thursday about coping with her daughter's death. "When she didn't answer I realized there had been an attack," she said.
Karin said that Noa was intelligent, mature and determined to stick to her life goals. "She really wanted to be a fighter, and she did her role the best there was. She was not afraid for a moment. She felt very protected, she had no fear. She told me 'Don't worry, I'm protected. I didn't sleep at night, but she wasn't afraid."
Karin said the last moments she spent with her daughter came during the Yom Kippur holiday: "On Yom Kippur, she was with me. We were close all Kippur, she prepared a delicious meal, we walked outside, we were together all Kippur. That was the last time I saw her."
Karin spoke about the last few days and the moments when she realized her daughter was in the shooting attack. "We talked almost daily, especially at the end of the shift. I spoke to her for the last time on Friday evening. On Saturday, I asked her what was going on, she said she was going to be on shift until nine. At two minutes to nine, I sent her, 'How was the shift?' and when she didn't answer, I realized there was an attack."
‘A nightmare that never ends’
Her mother paid tribute to her at her funeral held on Sunday. "I am in a nightmare that never ends. I am so happy that I insisted on staying with you on Yom Kippur. You are the girl every mother wants to have. You wanted to be a fighter so much and you went with it to the end," Karin said as she eulogized her 18-year-old daughter.
The mother described in the obituary the moments when she realized that her daughter was involved in the shooting attack at the checkpoint. "They say that a mother feels something is happening to her child. We agreed that you always text me when you start and end a shift. When I texted you and you didn't answer, I knew the worst had happened, but I didn't want to believe it. My head knew and understood, but my heart refused to accept."
Noa, from Bat Hefer, was killed on Saturday night in a shooting attack at a checkpoint near Shuafat in East Jerusalem. She was a crossing fighter in the Erez Battalion of the military police and was promoted to the rank of sergeant after her death. She was laid to rest on Sunday evening at the military cemetery in Kfar Yona.
Noa's friends were at the funeral and spoke in honor of their fallen friend. One of Noa’s friends, Shaked, wrote, "My little treasure, I can't believe you treated me like this." Her friend Noya also spoke at the funeral, saying: "My heart is broken into a thousand pieces, you are in my heart forever. I will never forget the road we went through together, I love you, my angel."
"My heart is broken into a thousand pieces."
a friend of Noa Lazars speaking at her funeral
Another friend – 20-year-old Lehi Avizohar, who lives near Noa's grandparents and attended school above her – described her as "an amazing girl, a good friend to her friends, always loved everyone. She was an apprentice in the Golan tribe of scouts and a very good girl from a respectable family… We are really shocked."