‘Everything I do is in memory of you’ – hundreds honour Nathanel Young
Cockfosters and North Southgate Synagogue holds a memorial for 20-year-old murdered by Hamas terrorists on 7 October
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Hundreds of people packed the Cockfosters and North Southgate Synagogue to mourn one of their own — the 20-year-old soldier, Nathanel Young, who died in the first round of fighting on the Gaza border after the Hamas massacres on 7 October.
Corporal Young, who was buried in Jerusalem in a full military ceremony, had only lived in Israel for a year before successfully joining the prestigious Golani Brigade in the IDF.
His memorial service was also an opportunity for the tight-knit community to pray for Israel, in a service led by the synagogue’s current minister, Rabbi Meir Shindler, with contributions from previous rabbonim including Rabbi Daniel Epstein and Rabbi Yisroel Fine. Chazan Dov Speier and Chazan David Rome also took part.
A long-time friend of the Young family, Rabbi Hershel Kesselman, urged people to remember Nathanel when they lit their Shabbat candles. He reminded the congregation that “Here in the UK, we are all also soldiers.”
Friends, including Amy Boujenah and Yuval Remon, paid tribute to the much-loved, larger-than-life and music-loving soldier, who had been determined to make his way in Israel, joining his three older siblings when he made aliyah. “Everything I do is in memory of you,” Yuval said. “How many lives you have touched”.
At one point during the service, the Israeli embassy’s military attaché could be seen with his arm round the shoulders of Nicky Young, Nathanel’s father. Mr Young and his wife Chantal spoke touchingly about their son, whose ambition had been, his father said, “to become rich and buy his mother a big house with a swimming pool”.
Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely attended the service.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
