In Hebrew with English subtitles, this powerful song was written by Ariel Horowitz as a tribute to First Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, a lone soldier who was among the first killed in Operation Protective Edge in 2014. As an American Jew who chose to serve in the IDF despite the fact that his parents lived in Texas, concerns were expressed on social media that his funeral would be relatively empty. Subsequently, an estimated 20 000 people attended his funeral in a staggering display of respect and solidarity. Because he was a big fan of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team, the team even arranged free transportation from his late night funeral back to the center of the country in an effort to encourage fans to attend. See the chorus in Hebrew and a translation of the lyrics to English below. For complete Hebrew lyrics, click here.
עשרים אלף איש ואתה הראשון
עשרים אלף איש אחריך שון
צועדים בשקט עם פרחים
שתי אחיות – עשרים אלף אחים
20,000 People
Twenty thousand people, and you are the first.
Twenty thousand people behind you, Sean.
Marching in silence with flowers,
Two sisters, 20,000 brothers
Football fans who came with the team scarves
And a woman with the flag
Who is not sure why she is so crying so much
Without ever knowing you
Twenty thousand people…
Came to say thank you and to say goodbye
To say that there’s no such thing as a ‘lone soldier’
or that « a people that dwells alone is not »
As long as there are in Texas, in Haifa, and in Gush Etzion
People like you, Sean
Twenty thousand people…
The Maker of peace above
Make peace for us with the coming of autumn
No longer being seen anymore, Sean
This is why they all came here, the elderly and the young,
From Haifa and Gush Etzion
Twenty thousand people…