"Generations have dreamed of reaching Jerusalem, and we have the honor of protecting it," said Rose Lubin, a young woman, in front of a large crowd, at a large fundraising event for the Friends of the IDF in the USA.
Anyone who lives in Israel knows that Jerusalem is a special city with rare sites and a glorious history. Today, we are able to visit the Kotel (the Western Wall) whenever we like, but this has not always been the case. For many generations people dreamed of and longed to visit Jerusalem, and prayed that they would have this opportunity.
Rose understood this, and although she had a comfortable life in Atlanta in the USA, at the age of 18 she left her parents and her four younger siblings and made aliya (immigrated to Israel), enlisting in the IDF. She studied Hebrew in Ulpan and joined Kibbutz Sa'ad, one of the settlements around the Gaza Strip as part of a Gar’in (a group of young people who live together in a new place). Rose enlisted as a lone soldier in the Lavi Company of the Border Patrol, and was very happy when she was assigned to serve in Jerusalem and guard the Old City.
Rose was on vacation at her home in Kibbutz Sa’ad on the festival of Simchat Torah. When the kitat konenut (the kibbutz armed civilian squad) was mobilized, she joined the team with a gun in her hand guarding the kibbutz entrance gate to prevent terrorists from entering.
“The terrorists passed over Kibbutz Sa'ad thanks to the armed civilian squad that guarded it," said Dor Biton, the commander of her company. "Rose continued to help as she went to other neighboring kibbutzim to evacuate and secure ambulances. On Monday, we drove out to her in an armored jeep to bring her back to her position in Jerusalem, where she was needed. Rose shared with us the difficult things she had seen, but she kept up a strong spirit. We tried to make it easier for her and let her take some time off, but she did not want to rest. She said staying active kept her motivated to protect the citizens and our country."
On the following Sunday, after that difficult Shabbat, Rose joined her team, guarding the Old City. A month later, while she was defending the Old City in the morning, a terrorist shot her and another soldier guarding alongside her, and a few hours later she died of her wounds.
What a wonderful strength of spirit Rose had; a lone soldier who was there to protect both the settlements around the Gaza Strip and her beloved Jerusalem.
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