Thousands of people from around the country attended the funeral Tuesday night of IDF Sgt. Maj. (res.) Jordan Cooper, a lone soldier from Pennsylvania who died from an allergic reaction, weeks after fighting with his infantry unit against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
I am completely heartbroken.
Jordan Cooper, a lone soldier who came all the way from the U.S. to serve in the IDF, died tonight due to an unexpected, rare allergy attack.
May his memory be forever a blessing. pic.twitter.com/Oi7JIjXit2
— Vivid. (@VividProwess) August 13, 2024
Cooper, whose funeral was held at the Ganei Esther cemetery in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Letzion, began his service in 2018 in the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion.
He came to Israel through the Garin Tzabar program, which facilitates military service for Israelis and Diaspora Jews who do not have parents living in the country, and served for three and a half years, before returning to the United States where his family lives.
After the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and triggered the now 10-month-old war in Gaza, the 26-year-old returned to Israel to fight alongside his comrades in the reserve battalion for 200 days.
About three weeks after being discharged from the reserves, Cooper’s mother bought halva at a market in Tel Aviv, after the seller assured her that it did not contain any nuts. At home, he had a severe allergic reaction after eating the halva. He received an EpiPen injection, but later collapsed in front of his family when the ambulance arrived and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Some more footage I took at the funeral of lone IDF soldier Jordan Cooper. Over 1000 beautiful random Israelis came to his funeral as he had no family here.
You can hear in the last 2 videos everyone reciting some prayers together
This is Israel, this is what we do. https://t.co/sSnzAX6BTK pic.twitter.com/KBVtW7F6ov
— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) August 13, 2024
His funeral in Rishon Letzion, which was home to his adoptive Israeli family during his military service, was attended by thousands of Israelis who came to pay their last respects at the request of his U.S. family since some members were unable to get to Israel due to the flight cancellations spurred by the tensions in the region.
