Maor and Hodia Gool marked their December wedding with multiple memorials to their close friend, Sgt. Yehonatan Elias, who was killed in May 2024 in southern Gaza at age 20. But the most emotional tribute came right before the chuppah, when Hodia surprised Maor with a custom suit pin bearing Elias’s photo, prompting the groom to cry on camera as the moment was later shared on Instagram.
Hodia told C14 the pin was kept secret from everyone. She said she found the idea on Shein and ordered a personalized accessory without telling anyone: “It was a complete surprise.” She said Maor was unusually emotional because of his bond with Elias, a childhood friend from the neighborhood, their Bnei Akiva branch, and their school.
The wedding itself included several other memorial elements. The chuppah was held with a tallit dedicated to Elias, guests waved his flags from the ketubah to the canopy, and the couple set up a station offering purple shots with a sign reading, “Raise a shot in Yehonatan’s memory,” since he liked arak. Elias’s father also served as a witness at the ceremony.
Hodia said the couple and their friends have continued memorializing him in daily life. The pin now sits prominently in their home, along with his flag, magnets, and bracelets. The group visits his family in Har Homa every Friday night, and Hodia said, “We are happy that we managed to move and touch so many hearts, that we still have another way to memorialize Yehonatan, and that everyone will know who he was.”
