IDF officer buried after being accidentally shot by fellow soldier
Bidding their final farewells to Lt. David Golovenchich, who was shot by mistake during a drill, family, friends and soldiers escort him on his final journey at Mt. Herzl Cemetery; 'You were admired by your soldiers. They will continue in your path,' says commander; ‘I can’t describe what has befallen me...I love you David,' says mother.
Speaking at the funeral, his commander described him as an exceptional fighter. “He went to the commanders course and after that was selected to go to the officers course. He did his job brilliantly and always took care of his soldiers like they were his children,” Sion Bloch said.
“Your soldiers are a testament to the fact that you were an admired commander. David, you were complete with your work and you did it with a smile that never left your face. We will continue in your path. Your soldiers will continue in your path because that is how you educated them.”
Bloch told the Golovenchich family that “David fell among soldiers who loved him” before concluding his eulogy. “David, in the name of the 12th Battalion. I salute you.”
His mother, Esther, also delivered an emotional eulogy for her son whose life was cut so prematurely short. “I thought I could eulogize him. My dear son, my beloved son,” she began. “I think I can’t describe what has befallen me. I had the privilege of having 22 years with such a wonderful gift.
“You taught me so much. You always made sure that we enjoyed and that we had a smile on our faces. I promise you, with all the pain, that we will continue to do that,” she continued as soldiers and friends wept around her. “I love you David.”
David’s sister Ruthi described her brother as “my hero.”
“You were so beautiful. You were my little brother but acted like a big brother. I learned everything from you....You lived a crazy life as if you knew it was short. You never wasted a second. I can’t believe that you won’t be coming back to me on Friday. We love you,” she said.
Golovenchich, 22, grew up in Jerusalem, but moved to the settlement of Efrat in Gush Etzion with his family several years ago. He studied at the Bnei Zvi yeshiva in Beit El and later enlisted in the IDF and joined the Golani Brigade.
"It was clear to me from the start that I had a leader, a commander growing up in my class. It was obvious throughout his studies," said Rabbi Itamar Lieberman, who was Golovenchich's homeroom teacher.
"On the one hand, he was a mischievous child, and on the other hand he had good manners and wanted to contribute. The most noticeable thing about him is his smile... he always stood out in class for his desire to contribute."
Earlier on Wednesday, the IDF soldier who accidentally killed Golovenchich gave his version of events, claiming that nobody performed the routine check on his rifle despite the fact that his magazine was inserted in the gun.
“I didn’t sleep all night because of the incident and I don’t remember the moments after it. Close to 8pm yesterday before we went to the checkpoint, the platoon commander went through the rules of opening fire, and said if the terrorist comes to stab us at the post, we have to load our weapons and shoot him,” the soldier said.
“After that we did an even bigger group exercise with the soldiers and then the platoon commander practiced with me and added a few soldiers who were supposed to guard at the checkpoint. The two of us had our magazines in our guns. The commander approached the post, flipped the table over and pretended to be a terrorist. So I loaded my gun and shot one bullet at a close distance of a few meters. It is difficult for me to remember the moments after.”
According to this version, Golovenchich would not have been aware that his soldier’s magazine was inserted while acting as a terrorist.
The soldier only drafted into the IDF last November and first took up position in Hebron just two weeks ago. Since the incident, he has been receiving treatment from a military psychologist.
He told his friends that he didn’t know Golovenchich well, who only joined the Golani Brigade's 12th battalion two weeks ago. “There was nothing bad between us, and the relationship was good in the last few days when we started getting to know him.”
