Shaul Greenglick, 26, from the town of Ra’anana, was on his way to becoming a household name before being killed in action in fighting Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip this week: he was a contestant on The Next Star, Israel’s version of American Idol.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Captain (Res.) Greenglick was a member of the 931 Batallion of the Nahal Brigade, according to the IDF. He was also an aspiring singer, and had advanced through The Next Star, performing in November on leave, still in uniform.
In his performance, his family can be seen in the audience, singing and cheering as the judges express their admiration.
In a tragic irony, Greenglick had recorded a song earlier this year for Israel’s Memorial Day 2023, titled “After Eternity.”
In another video circulating in the Israeli media, Greenglick is shown several weeks ago, while at home on leave, listening to his family sing and play piano and guitar, while his mother hugs him from behind at the dining room table, savoring his presence.
סרטון שצולם לפני כחודש,שאול גרינגליק הי״ד יצא לאפטר. המשפחה שרה,האמא מחבקת אותו.כמו סצנה מפרק סוף עונה של דרמה משפחתית.
— חי שמואל- hai shmuel (@HaiShmuel) December 26, 2023
היום הזה באמת הציף אותי מכל הסיפורים של הגיבורים הנופלים אבל משהו בסיפור של שאול נגע בי כאילו אני מכיר אותו שנים. חיבוק למשפחה, הלוואי ותחזרו מהר לשיר ולחבק. pic.twitter.com/IqMXhAaRB9
Greenglick was laid to rest on Wednesday, one of more than 160 soldiers that have fallen since the IDF counter-offensive in Gaza.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
