Alex Filin, immigrant soldier who killed attacker, is named Presidential Excellence honoree

Staff Sergeant (res.) Alexander Filin was killed on Thursday morning by an explosive device in the village of A-Taybeh in southern Lebanon, and the IDF later cleared his name for publication. Filin had moved to Israel alone about 14 years ago from Ukraine through the Naale program, studied at Aloni Yitzhak boarding school, and later lived in Ra'anana.

During his regular service, Filin served as a sniper in the Nahal Brigade. In a 2018 interview with the local paper Tzomet HaSharon, he said he had wanted to join an elite unit but was not accepted because he was an immigrant from Ukraine and did not yet have strong Hebrew or security clearance. “I am with many soldiers like me, so I do not feel alone,” he said then, adding, “I love life in Israel more than in Ukraine.”

That interview came after he was chosen as a Presidential Excellence honoree in 2018. Filin said at the time that two years earlier he had taken part in an incident at the Sha'ar Shchem checkpoint involving a terrorist who tried to hurt a friend. “I shot him and actually neutralized him, and that saved my friend’s life,” he recalled, saying soldiers in the army face difficult situations while protecting civilians and the state. About receiving the award, he said, “It is a very high honor. Not everyone receives it, so apparently they saw that I was doing good things.”

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav eulogized Filin on Thursday, saying he “stood up when called,” left his routine and loved ones, and went out to defend Israel and its citizens. He said Filin was part of a generation willing to bear the burden and sacrifice for everyone, and sent condolences to the Filin family on behalf of the city.