In the same sanctuary where Omer Neutra was bar mitzvahed less than a decade ago, a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,000 people packed the pews at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, N.Y., on Tuesday morning for Neutra’s memorial service. 

The 21-year-old Long Island native, an IDF tank commander, was among the first soldiers to respond to the Oct. 7 attack, serving near the community of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. He was thought to have been captured alive in the attacks and taken into the Gaza Strip. In the 14 months since, Neutra’s parents mounted a determined, emotion-laden effort to get their “lone soldier” son released — including speaking at the Republican National Convention in July. But their tireless fight came to an end on Monday when Israel’s military announced that it had determined that Neutra was killed on Oct. 7, and his body taken to Gaza, where it remains. 

Eulogies were delivered by Midway Jewish Center’s Rabbi Joel Levenson and Cantor Adam Frei; Neutra’s friends Alyssa Mendelowitz and Hayden Roth; friends of the Neutra family, Iona Gar, Smadar Chen and Rachel Cronin; and Neutra’s parents, Ronen and Orna, and brother Daniel. 

“We envisioned images of your reunion, focusing on doing, on our fight for your release and for some clarity in the face of the unknown. And now things are clear, but not as we hoped,” Orna said, referring to Neutra as her “strong, 6-foot-2-inch, big, smiley son.”

“I felt so small in your powerful hugs,” Orna said. Daniel, dressed in his brother’s jacket, said that he would “have to grow old without him by my side,” noting that Neutra was his “best friend.”

Mendelowitz, a classmate of Neutra’s since first grade at the Schechter School of Long Island, who also participated in United Synagogue Youth with him, said through tears that Neutra, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, was “compassionate, caring and kind” and embodied “all of the Jewish values that a parent would want their child to encompass.” Mourners also reflected on Neutra’s decision to defer his enrollment at Binghamton University to join the IDF, as well as his love for the New York Knicks. 

During Ronen and Orna Neutra’s advocacy on behalf of their son, the couple formed a close bond with Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, another young Israeli-American dual citizen taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 — and murdered after almost a year in captivity. After Goldberg-Polin was killed at the end of August, Ronen Neutra told Jewish Insider at a vigil in New York City that he stands with the Goldberg-Polins “in this difficult time.” The support is mutual, it appeared on Tuesday, as the Goldberg-Polins sat next to the Neutras at Omer’s funeral, while Rachel and Orna held hands.  

Throughout the 14-month ordeal, the Neutras held out hope that Omer would come home alive through a hostage-release deal. “Hersh survived almost 11 months in captivity and was murdered, supposedly before the [hostage] deal was going to come to fruition,” Ronen told JI at the vigil to memorialize Hersh on Sep. 1. 

On Tuesday, Ronen reiterated calls for Israel to make a deal to get back the hostages — those who are still alive —  as well as the bodies of those that are dead, such as Omer.

“Omer said, ‘It’s my turn to show my love to Israel in action, not just words,’” Ronen said. “Now it’s Israel’s turn to show its love and get him and everybody else back.” 

The memorial service was also attended by local elected officials and Jewish leaders including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ordered flags on state buildings be flown at half-staff, and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. 

eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim contributed reporting.