Israeli President Isaac Herzog eulogized the late Meny (Menachem) Godard, 73, as “the best of humanity” during Godard’s funeral service at Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel on Monday.
“Our wild neighbors, as always, do not know what they are doing, who they are murdering: the best of humanity,” said Herzog, quoting the early 20th century Zionist writer Yosef Chaim Brenner, himself murdered by Arabs during the 1921 Jaffa riots.
“When you look around at the gravestones of all the friends and family buried in Be’eri’s cemetery, you can see: Hamas terrorists murdered the best of humanity on Oct. 7. Meny and Ayelet Goddard, may their memory be a blessing, were the best of humanity,” he said.
Meny’s wife, Ayelet, 63, was killed alongside him in their home in Kibbutz Be’eri by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Meny’s body was taken into the Gaza Strip, and recovered by Israel on Nov. 13.
“Today we said goodbye to Meny and Ayelet, an inseparable couple in their love, in their lives and in their deaths. And here they are together again, and we, in pain and in mourning, are by their side,” said Herzog.
Meni’s death was officially confirmed on Dec. 8, 2023. He is survived by four children and seven grandchildren.
“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages, and is prepared for the continued implementation of the [ceasefire] agreement,” the military said in a statement after recovering Meny’s body.
“Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial,” the statement continued.
Palestinian terrorists are still holding the bodies of three captives: two Israelis—Sgt. Ran Gvili and Dror Or—and a Thai citizen, Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was working in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release agreement that went into effect on Oct. 13, Hamas committed to returning for burial 28 bodies it was holding on the first day of the ceasefire.
