Tributes have been pouring in for Major Benjamin Trakeniski, a 32-year-old member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed by Hamas during its harrowing assault on the Middle Eastern nation.
Major Trakeniski, who joined IDF aged 18, was gunned down by members of the terror group while he was helping evacuate wounded civilians at the Be’eri kibbutz, stormed on the morning of October 7 by around 70 Hamas militants.
Based in Tel Aviv, the IDF soldier was reportedly off-duty on the day of the attack, but selflessly decided to head to Be’eri to offer support – and managed to save a number of residents before being killed.
Since his body was identified on Tuesday, friends, family and his former teachers have been honouring the memory and life of Major Trakeniski, known as “Benji” to his loved ones.
The IDF member lived in Tel Aviv and was engaged to Israeli tattoo artist Rotem and was due to marry her in April next year.
The distraught fiancée, instead, read out her wedding vows at his funeral held on Thursday and attended by some 2,000 people, including fellow wounded soldiers.
A friend of Benji told the Jewish News: “Benji was the most positive, pure and kind-hearted person. He was all about helping others and in this heroic way he also died by saving many lives at the Be’eri fighting.
“Benji and his fiancée Rotem were supposed to get married in April. At the funeral, she read the vow she was supposed to read at the wedding, as a eulogy.”
Recalling the heart-wrenching funeral service, the friend added: “People were sobbing. Hearing a father say Kaddish for his child is the worst and most heart-breaking thing in the world.
“Rotem’s speech was so touching. She read it in tears and we were all crying with her.”
Among those who attended the funeral was one of Benji’s former lecturers, Tommy Steiner, who teaches at the Reichman University in Herzliya.
Speaking of Major Trakeniski, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Just heard a former student, Major Benji Trakeniski was killed by Hamas while defending civilians. Never met in person, he took my seminar during COVID, but we had lengthy phone and Zoom sessions. Will remember his smile, curiosity and humour. May his memory be a blessing. RIP, Benji.”
The man’s London-born mother, Liz Bennett, praised her son’s kindness and caring spirit as she told mourners: “You cared for your frail grandparents with respect and dignity and you were ever conscious of soldiers’ needs. Benji, thank you for the honour of letting you be my son.”
Taking to Instagram, Major Trakeniski’s sister – Sharon – shared a photograph of her brother and hailed him a hero.
She wrote on the social media platform: “Benji, the hero, beautifully described, the brave [who] fell [in] battle while saving dozens of lives.”
Israel’s former National Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani, who served in the same unit as the late IDF soldier, is also understood to have attended the funeral and delivered a speech focused on Major Trakeniski’s values.
Be’eri, who was home to some 1,000 people, was one of the hardest-hit kibbutzim on October 7, with at least 120 residents killed by Hamas.
