Rose Lubin

Staff Sgt. Rose Lubin, 21, a Border Police officer in Jerusalem’s Old City precinct, was killed in a stabbing attack in the capital on November 6.

Lubin, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, moved to Israel as a lone soldier to enlist in the IDF, and was drafted to serve in the Border Police. She would often stay with her “adopted family” in Kibbutz Sa’ad, near the Gaza Strip, and was there on Simhat Torah when Hamas carried on its murderous onslaught on southern Israel.

At Lubin’s funeral, a resident of Sa’ad recalled that Lubin picked up her weapon and joined the battle against Hamas terrorists trying to break into the kibbutz: “I asked her to put on her uniform so she could be identified as part of the team,” he said, adding that she fought throughout that day until she was called back to Jerusalem and her duties with the Border Police. The terrorists were successfully prevented from breaking into the kibbutz.

Lubin is survived by her parents, Robin and David, brothers Alec, Joseph and Isaac, sister, Lily, as well as grandparents and step-grandparents. At her funeral, Lubin was recalled as a wonderful big sister to her younger siblings, a colorful, wise soul who was a staunch vegan, fierce wrestler, joyful cheerleader at Dunwoody High School and longtime Zionist.

“Rose is the most free-spirited person I know,” said her brother Alec, describing a young woman who always dyed her hair different colors as an “extension of who she is.”

Alec was often Rose’s sparring partner for wrestling practice, and she was a “tough as nails, short, stubby, muscular girl” who moved from wrestling to cheerleading in high school and later found her place in Israel’s Border Police. He spoke of “noodling” for catfish together in the Kentucky River, of catching fireflies, of his sister’s love for horses.

Her mother, Robin Lubin, thanked God for choosing her to be Rose’s mother. She read from Rose’s bat mitzvah speech, in which her daughter declared her desire to “create a mind-blowing life story.”

“‘There will be a time that I will not be existent in this world,’” she read. “‘So what do I do? I will do something great for the world, I won’t wait for the world to do something great for me.’”

Tamar James, Lubin’s “adopted mother” from Kibbutz Sa’ad, said she was wearing a bright pink shirt in Lubin’s honor. “You were so colorful and full of life, like a people magnet,” said James. “You joined our family and our kids saw you as the big sister.”

Rose’s father, David Lubin, spoke about his daughter’s first trips to Israel, her committed Jewish family in Atlanta and her decision at a young age to move to Israel and join the army.

His daughter was an individual who “made fashion trends her own,” never wearing matching socks, and with hair that “has been every length and shape, including shaved,” he said.

He recalled how determined Rose was to fulfill her dream of moving to Israel and joining the army, even from a very young age.

“She would tell kids in the playground that they could be friends now — but that she was joining the IDF at 18,” he recounted.
Source: The Times of Israel