Hundreds of people gathered in the hometown of a slain 21-year-old Israeli captain Sunday to dedicate a park in his honor — as his family prays for his body to be returned from the Gaza Strip.
The town of Oyster Bay officially renamed the green space the Capt. Omer Neutra Memorial Park, honoring the young man from Plainview who was killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
“[The park] always meant something because we used to bring him here as a child,” grieving father Ronen Neutra told The Post. “But now you see his picture [here]. … It’s an amazing sign of support.”
The fallen soldier’s mother, Orna Neutra, said, “In this park I see Omer. I see my boy.
“Not the soldier, not the headlines. I see a boy full of mischief. I hear his laughter, the endless brotherly bickering with [his sibling] Daniel.
“This neighborhood was his world. Carefree, a place of friendship, small adventures,” she said. “The foundation for the values that shaped who he became. A place where being connected to Israel is a source of pride where community and contribution are valued.
“And I want the children to play in this park. To feel what Omer felt. Joy. Adventure. Belonging. A community that wraps around you with love.”
Neutra was remembered by loved ones and his community as a strong but playful young man, brimming with positive energy that spread to those around him.
The 21-year-old was also an avid athlete who loved sports, especially basketball as he always cheered for the New York Knicks and LA Lakers’ Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.
Since Omer would always play basketball when he lived in Plainview, the town included a basketball court in the park with a plaque that reads: “From this park, where he once played as a child, to the distant battlefield where he fought in defense of freedom and democracy.
“Omer was a true leader wherever he served. We will forever honor this son of our community for his courage, selfless bravery and his unwavering love of humanity,” the sign added.
Family friend Gabrielle Miller, who babysat Neutra when he was a boy, thanked the town for creating the memorial, describing it as a way to permanently etch the slain Israel Defense Force captain into the streets that he called home.
“We are planting his memory here,” she said. “This is where children will laugh and play. Where friends will meet, where life will be lived. Just as Omer lived his with courage, kindness and a little bit of mischief.”
Actor Michael Rapaport, who got to know the Neutras from his pro-Israel activism, attended the event and said he was moved by the family’s story and called for Hamas to immediately release the 21-year-old’s body along with other murdered hostages’ corpses — while freeing those believed to be still alive.
“It’s of the utmost importance that Omer and the 47 other hostages come home right now,” Rapaport told The Post.
“We cannot, will not, stop fighting, begging, pleading, writing, screaming, yelling, crying until Omer Neutra and the other 47 are returned. It is the right thing to do. It is the Jewish thing to do. It is the New York thing to do.
“And we have to keep that New York spirit alive every time we think about Omer Neutra, because he is one of our people, he is one of our brothers, he is one of our sons,” the actor said.
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino hailed Neutra — who enlisted as a tank commander with the IDF — as a model citizen who touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with.
“Omer was no doubt a leader. He embodied the values of bravery, commitment and humanity,” Saladino said.
Neutra was serving as a platoon commander in the IDF near the Gaza border when his unit was ambushed by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, just a week shy of his birthday.
Neutra was initially believed to have been taken alive until it was revealed in December that he was killed in the attack and his body taken back to Gaza.
Neutra’s body is among the 28 corpses being held by Hamas, with no sign of a hostage exchange deal taking place anytime soon as the war in Gaza escalates.
The post LI park named in honor of slain Israeli soldier Omer Neutra as mom pays heartbreaking tribute: ‘I want the children to play’ appeared first on New York Post.
