A leftist anti-government protester from the “Achim L’Neshek’ group decided it would be appropriate to make his views known on Tuesday at the funeral of IDF Sergeant Maxim Molchanov, a lone soldier killed last week in a terrorist ramming attack at the Maccabim junction. Molchanov’s parents, Evgeny and Larysa, flew in from Ukraine on Monday night to attend their son’s funeral.
The protester showed up in “uniform,” wearing his anti-government tee shirt, and waving his regulation protest flag.
Mourners standing around the protester told him bluntly that his actions were “inappropriate,” emphasizing, “This isn’t the place.” He ignored them.
Molchanov immigrated to Israel from Ukraine by himself at age 14; when he became old enough, he enlisted in the IDF Artillery Corps.
The soldier was eulogized by Lt. Col. Oren Fitoussi, commander of the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Regiment in the Artillery Corps unit in which the soldier served.
Fitoussi called his soldier “an angel from heaven; an angel in human form… Good-hearted, caring, you were a lesson for everyone,” he said.
The commander noted that Molchanov dreamed of becoming a combat soldier. This is a dream that came true, when he was the ammunition loader for the team that fired first during the recent escalation in the north,” along Israel’s border with Lebanon this past July.
“Evgeny and Larysa, you sent here a child with values and dreams. You did amazing work with Maxim’s upbringing and education, and I thank you for allowing us to enjoy him. I apologize for not bringing him back safely,” Fitoussi told the soldier’s parents.
Molchanov was laid to rest in at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv.
