Thousands turned out to mourn an American-Israeli who was put to rest on Thursday morning after she was killed in a terrorist attack.
The funeral for 20-year-old Sgt. Rose Ida Lubin was held at Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery. Lubin’s family traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, to lay Lubin to rest, with her father explaining that she knew she wanted to join the Israeli army since she was five years old.
“When Rose would meet new kids on the playground, she explained to them that they could be friends now, because she was going to be moving to Israel when she turned eighteen and join the Israeli army.”
Lubin was working as a border police officer when she was killed in a stabbing attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City. Another officer was injured in the attack, committed by a 16-year-old resident of Sa’ir in East Jerusalem.
Speakers during the funeral including her mother, father, brother and her commander described her as a happy and caring free spirit that loved to dress colorfully. Rose was also a vegan who enjoyed encouraging her friends to eat healthy and stay active, according to her loved ones.
Lubin’s younger brother, who described her as his best friend, said she helped protect kibbutz Sa’ad near the Gaza border on Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.
Her commander called it a privilege to get to know the “the fighter she was.”
“Our Rose. Thank you, thank you for fighting like a lioness,” he said. “Thank you for operating and preventing a terror attack with your body.”
Lubin’s mother read her bat-mitzvah speech she gave when she was twelve years old that told of the plans for her life.
“Shalom, y’all,” it began. “Life is an ongoing path of mystery, adventure, love. It is like one long book, and like other books, it has a beginning and end.”
