Dunwoody native Sgt. Rose Ida Lubin, 20, an Israeli-American and a police officer with the Israel Defense Forces, was killed in Jerusalem Monday morning during a knife attack near the Old City of Jerusalem.
Lubin, the oldest of four siblings, graduated from Dunwoody High School, then immigrated to Israel. She joined the IDF about a year and half ago, according to her great uncle Rick Halpern.
She was killed by a knife-wielding 16-year-old, who also wounded another Israeli officer; the attacker was shot and killed by other IDF soldiers, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Everybody who knew her, knew her as a loving, vivacious, caring person,” said Halpern. “She also was a very strong person, and tough.”
Lubin was assigned to duty as a police officer at the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is in the Muslim Quarter.
“It was one of the most dangerous places in all of Israel,” said Halpern. Lubin’s parents, David and Robin Lubin, were planning to fly to Israel Tuesday, he said, and funeral services were planned for Thursday in Israel, where Rose Lubin will be buried at Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery.
Gov. Brian Kemp and other Georgia leaders expressed condolences in social media posts.
“Marty, the girls and I are heartbroken by the tragic news of Rose Lubin’s death,” Kemp wrote. “Her courage and commitment to fighting evil is an inspiration to us all, and we will continue to keep her family and loved ones in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson shared sympathy as well.
“This is a profoundly sad and difficult day and time for Rosie’s entire family, her teachers and classmates at Dunwoody High School, and for the greater Dunwoody community,” he said. “We grieve with them in this most devastating time.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr noted a connection he and Lubin shared.
“May God comfort the Lubin family as they mourn the senseless killing of Sgt. Rose Lubin from my hometown of Dunwoody. I will continue to proudly stand with and support Israel as it rightly defends itself from Hamas and all who wish to see it eradicated,” he wrote in a statement reposted by state Rep. Esther Panitch.
Lubin talked about her job at Atlanta’s Friends of the Israel Defense Forces during their May fundraising gala.
“I’m a combat-trained soldier specializing in terrorism with the authority of a police officer,” Lubin said. “This means in one shift I could give a ticket to someone for not wearing a seat belt, or break into a foot-chase after someone who threw a Molotov cocktail at a soldier.”
She added, “Every one of us has experienced a terror attack.”
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
At Dunwoody High School, Lubin distinguished herself as a competitive wrestler, a writer and a member of the varsity cheer squad.
Dunwoody teacher Paul Siegel, who taught Rose as a freshman, wrote on the Dunwoody area Facebook page, “Whether she was on the sidelines cheering, whooping boys on the wrestling mat or working on the yearbook she always did her best with humor and grace.”
Lubin won first place in the district level of the Georgia Young Authors contest in 2018.
Gayle Hard, who has coached the cheer squad at Dunwoody High School for 22 years, said Lubin approached her just before her junior year and asked if she could try out. Lubin had never cheered or been to a football game, she said.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Since football games were on Friday evenings, which is part of the Jewish sabbath, Lubin got permission from her rabbi to attend, said Hard. Lubin also turned down the offer to ride home in a car or use the telephone on those evenings, and brought her own kosher food for team meals.
“I was constantly in awe of her work ethic and dedication and commitment,” said Hard.
“She was a great kid, unassuming and humble and always doing what was best for the group without ever giving in on her beliefs. I wish there were more people like her in the world.”
Cheer squad alumnae have been texting back and forth after hearing the news of Lubin’s death, said Hard. “They are heartbroken.”
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On the morning of Oct. 7 Lubin was enjoying a day off at her host family’s kibbutz on the Gaza border when Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel. She and other soldiers repelled the attacks at that site, according to Lubin’s Atlanta cousin Beth Brown. “She was in active combat,” said Brown.
“Since she was a young kid, when she finished high school she felt strongly about defending the Jewish people and the importance of Israel,” said Brown. “She was determined; she was a badass.”
The United Nations Security Council failed to agree Monday on a cease-fire resolution in the month-old war, triggered by the Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,400 Israelis and took 240 hostages.
Since then more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes, including 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
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