Hundreds Attend Funeral of Reserve Sergeant Alexander Filin in Haifa

Hundreds of people on Sunday escorted reserve Staff Sergeant Alexander Filin, 29, to burial at the military cemetery in Haifa. Filin was killed last Wednesday by an explosive device in southern Lebanon. His funeral had been postponed so his wife, Daria-Dasha, who was in Russia, could return to Israel. Her flight was delayed because of a drone threat, which pushed back the ceremony until she arrived.

Filin was killed in a battle in which the deputy commander of the 36th Division and a reserve battalion commander in Logistics Battalion 556 were moderately wounded. He is survived by his wife and his mother, Miroslava, and was orphaned by his father.

He immigrated to Israel from Ukraine through the Naale program and studied in the "Keshet" group at Aloney Yitzhak youth village, graduating in 2015. Educators who accompanied him, Idit Rossges, Dima Lugov and Tiana Zolotov, described him as modest, loyal and always smiling. Housemother Idit said, "When he had to ask for something, it was always modestly."

Filin had a notable military record. In July 2016, while serving regular duty in the Nahal Brigade, he stopped a stabbing attack at a checkpoint near Nablus by pushing away an assailant who tried to stab a member of his unit, then shooting and neutralizing him. For that service, he received the President's Medal in 2018. He continued to report for reserve duty in combat units until his death last week.