IDF Officers Tie the Knot, Give Away Honeymoon to Couple Displaced by Rockets

Two IDF officers married each other and decided to give their honeymoon away to a couple from southern Israel, which Hamas has targeted with thousands of rockets during the past week.

By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel

When two IDF soldiers got married on May 6, they didn’t know that a few days later Hamas terrorists would interrupt their honeymoon plans with a massive rocket attack on Israel,

Liron Weinberg is an officer in the paratroopers brigade and his new bride Yarona is an officer in the IDF Spokesperson’s office, and they had booked a 3-day honeymoon this week in a bed and breakfast villa in northern Israel, the Times of Israel reported.

But as rockets rained down on Israel while they sat in a bomb shelter with their family, it was an easy decision to give up on the honeymoon and head back to their respective bases to serve their country as the situation escalated.

“Our [commanding] officers told us we didn’t have to come back right then, but it was important for us to be there,” Yarona told the Times. “I couldn’t see all those WhatsApps coming in from my staff and not be a part of it.”

“We had really waited for this vacation,” said Weinberg who admitted it had taken a long time for the two of them to arrange a week off from their military duties for the wedding.

But what to do with their honeymoon reservation?

That was easy for the newlyweds, who decided to give a gift to a couple from the south of the country where Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and cities.

Yarona posted a wedding picture on her Facebook page with the offer.

“Hey – we are an officer-couple who got married a few days ago,” Yarona said in captions on the wedding picture. “Because of the situation we are returning to the army – Liron to his team in the Paratroops and me to my job in the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.”

The captions let readers know that the couple “were supposed to celebrate our honeymoon” and gave the name of the B & B and the dates.

“We are looking for a couple from the south [of Israel] who wants to go to instead of us to a dream vacation in one of the magical locations in the country (on our bill, of course!),” adding her contact information.

As we say in Israel: “Kol hakavod” – all of the honor – to the newlyweds who not only chose to return to active duty, but donated their own honeymoon to a lucky couple who get to escape Hamas rockets for a few days.