A somber memorial service was held Tuesday in a Syosset synagogue for Omer Neutra, the 21-year-old Plainview native and Israeli-American soldier who was confirmed killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Approximately 700 people, including his mother Orna Neutra, father Ronen Neutra, brother Daniel Neutra, school friends, Governor Kathy Hochul, and the Nassau County executive, gathered at the Midway Jewish Center to mourn a life cut short. The service was a memorial, not a funeral, as Neutra's body has not been recovered and is believed to be held by Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israeli military officials confirmed this week, citing unspecified intelligence, that Neutra was not kidnapped and held hostage, as was previously thought, but had been killed on October 7. This clarification brought a painful end to a 14-month ordeal for the Neutra family, who had tirelessly advocated for his rescue, traveling to Israel, Washington, D.C., Doha, Qatar, London, and Chicago, and raising his case at the White House and the Republican National Convention.

Omer Neutra, an alumnus of the Schechter School of Long Island, had postponed college to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces. His family revealed he was serving near the Gaza border and was among the first soldiers to respond to the Hamas attack. Video footage reportedly shows the tank he was in that day being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, leading to the belief that he was killed and his body subsequently taken.

During the service, Orna Neutra expressed her anguish, saying,