Shaul Greenglick competing on “HaKokhav Haba.” Photo: Screenshot

Like many of us, I have had trouble sleeping since October 7. Our lives have been thrown into an uproar. Every morning we wake up to the “cleared for publication” list of IDF soldiers who were killed the previous day, and whose names and faces we are now permitted to see. Their families have been informed, and we all scan the list for names we know.

There is fear and pain every day. We also think of our hostages who are being held in Gaza, and the war for our very survival that we are currently engaged in.

I was in despair when I learned that 26-year-old Shaul Greenglick was killed in Gaza, only a few weeks after he auditioned for The Next Star show singing “Blind Bat,” which is a song about finding courage and happiness.

I sat in my living room in Tel Aviv watching him a few weeks ago, after a long evening with a friend who returned home from a month of fighting in Gaza.

As The Algemeiner reported, he later said he was putting singing on hold to defend his beloved homeland:

Greenglick uploaded on Dec. 14 an Instagram post that included a clip of his performance on HaKokhav Haba. In the caption, he talked about putting his passion of singing on hold to help defend Israel in its fight against Hamas terrorists.

“I imagined this year differently, a year of ambitions and fulfilling dreams. Now I am living an old dream to fight for the country … a new dream and another will have to wait a little,” he wrote in Hebrew.

In reading his post, and also watching his performance on Israeli TV, we see the true character of Israel. While Palestinian terrorists (and Palestinian society at large) are glorifying the death of Jews — here was an Israeli soldier who wanted to bring peace, light, music, and happiness to the world — but was returning to battle in order to save his family, friends, and fellow Jews.

The difference between the two sides could not be more stark — but of course, the world will never note or appreciate the difference.

After his death was announced, a video made the rounds, which showed him being hugged by his mom as he was home for a break from reserve duty while his family sang Shlomo Artzi’s “Teta’aru Lachem,” a song of longing for a world without sadness or fear. His mother was holding him; I can’t imagine what she is going through now.

This beautiful soul was killed because of a war started by a Palestinian society that produced and still supports Hamas — which seeks not to build and celebrate life, but to destroy it.

He is dead because this time, the Jewish people are choosing to live.

While Shaul Greenglick is dead, we will never ever quit. We will fight, and the Jewish people will live. Hamas and our enemies will be eliminated and the Jewish people will endure. We shed tears for the dead because we value life, but we must fight on for them. We will show strength and we will win, as our people have throughout history.

Shaul Greenglick’s father wore his son’s uniform, and saluted his fallen son at his funeral. A final salute for our fallen hero. Heartbreaking. May his memory forever be a blessing.

Ronn Torossian is an American-Israeli entrepreneur, author and philanthropist.