Adir Kadosh's fiancé expected to be recognized as first LGBT widower, since law changed last year

Adv.-St.-Sgt.-Maj. Adir Kadosh's fiance, Edi Levy, is expected to be recognized as a widower despite the wedding being planned for November, according to Israel Hayom.

Adir, who was killed during the terror attack on Route 4 on Tuesday, was planning to marry his partner of six years in November.

The recognition of Edi as a widower will be one of the first times it has been applied to an LGBTQ couple since the law was amended in late 2023.

The change was made after Capt. Sagui Golan was killed in combat in Gaza in November of 2023, and his fiance, Omer Ohana, was denied his pension because the 1950 law only applied to straight couples, as LGBTQ rights had not been recognized.

The law was amended rapidly to include LGBTQ couples because of the 1996 Steiner case, in which Adir Steiner sought to be recognized as the late Col. Doron Maisel's same-sex common-law spouse, allowing him to claim IDF widower benefits.

In response, the Defense Ministry announced it would recognize Steiner “as if he were a family member” for memorial matters; this was later extended to military pensions. However, it was never formalized in law until November 2023.

Adir's funeral

Adir was buried at a military cemetery in Holon several hours after the attack, in accordance with Jewish tradition.

The funeral was attended by Police Commissioner Danny Levy and was supposed to be attended by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom have made disparaging comments about LGBTQ people in the past.

"My beloved son, I will come every day. You will not be alone. I will talk to you all the time, I promise you. I promise I'll talk to you, I'll tell you anything, I'll take care of Edi. I will take care of everyone, [your] mother's king [hero]. I salute you," Adir's mother, Tali Kadosh, said.

"He always told me that he would die a hero and that everyone would hear about him," Edi told Walla on Tuesday.

"We were together for six years in a relationship. We lived in Rishon Lezion. We dreamed of starting a house and a family. We were supposed to get married in less than a month. I can't believe I'm talking about him in the past tense. He loved the police on a level I can't describe. The police was something special for him," he said.

Dor, Kadosh's brother, who celebrated his 28th birthday the same day, said, "All your life, you were a hero—and you will be a hero. Even in the coffin, you are smiling. Just take care of everyone; that's what I want. You need a monument to show your name."

At the funeral, Adir's commanding officer said, "I can't believe I'm talking about you in the past tense. Just yesterday you sent us an invitation to your wedding. There is no police officer who did not speak well of you. On a personal note, I will miss our conversations. Adir's family, we are with you all the way. I salute you, dear brother."

President Isaac Herzog wrote in a post on X/Twitter, "[His] is the story of heroic police officers that I meet every day all over the country. We have lost quite a few of these heroes in the past year. How sad that Adir and his beloved will not be able to realize their dream of building a home together. My condolences to his family and all his loved ones. May his memory be a blessing."