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Thousands attend funeral in Israel of US-born lone soldier: ‘We may not know him, but he’s family’

Cooper had decided to stay in Israel, marry his girlfriend Valery, and serve as a career officer in the Border Police.

By Debbie Weiss, The Algemeiner

Several thousand people on Tuesday evening attended the funeral of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fighter Jordan Cooper, a reservist and lone soldier originally from the US, who passed away after a rare allergy attack.

Cooper’s family called on the public to attend his funeral, explaining that several family members could not make it to Israel in time because many flights from the US were canceled amid rising tensions with Iran.

Crowds filled every inch of Ganei Esther Cemetery in Rishon Lezion. The funeral was held at 10 pm on Tuesday evening, just two hours after the Tisha B’av fast, which marks the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.

Cooper’s mother, Marla, who was visiting her son from the US, had bought halva at a market, after being assured by the vendor that it was nut-free.

Despite using an EpiPen after consuming the halva, Jordan experienced a severe allergic reaction. He collapsed in front of his family as the ambulance arrived and was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

“It’s just amazing to think that no one thought twice about coming so soon after a 25-hour fast,” mourner Reut Levy, from Modiin, told The Algemeiner.

Asked if she knew the deceased personally, Levy responded, “No. But did anyone here? We saw a WhatsApp message to come so we came. This is the essence of am yisrael,” she said, referring to the Hebrew term for the people of Israel.

Moshe Gal said he had driven a couple of hours from Haifa to attend Cooper’s funeral. “We came to show we care. We may not know him, but he’s family nonetheless,” Gal said. “Who is like you, Nation of Israel?”

Lia Kiral, who lives opposite the cemetery with her mother and brother, said they always made an effort to attend funerals there.

“We came to pay our last respects to this soldier, who came here to serve,” said Kiral, who had an Israeli flag draped around her soldiers.

Cooper’s father, Russ, choked up as he eulogized his son, visibly moved by the thousands of people who responded to the last-minute call to attend. “This is the reason he came to this country. Because of all of you,” he said.

Cooper had immigrated to Israel in 2018 through the Garin Tzabar program for lone soldiers with no immediate family in the Jewish state and served in the Nahal infantry brigade.

After completing his military service, he returned to his hometown in Pennsylvania but came back to Israel following the outbreak of war on Oct. 7 to fight in his reserve unit on the northern border.

He fought for 200 consecutive days before his release on July 18. During that time, Cooper had made the decision to stay in Israel, marry his girlfriend Valery, and serve as a career officer in the Border Police.

Last week, Cooper met with his reserve unit at the hospital to visit their commander, who had lost his leg during an operation in Gaza.

Cooper was determined to help the commander obtain a robotic leg from the United States, his close friend Raphael Portgang was cited by the Ynet news site as saying.

Another friend, Chaimon Blumfield, told mourners on Tuesday night that Cooper fought hard to rejoin his army unit, which told him that it was at 120 percent capacity.

He played a WhatsApp voice message to the crowd. “Try to help me fight. I want to serve in this war; I want to go into Gaza,” Cooper said in the message.

Ethan Cooper eulogized his brother, saying he would do everything to preserve his legacy. “I’ll find him in every place in my life, and I’ll be strong for him forever.