Imagine if you will, driving home at the end of the day. You are sitting next to your husband or wife in your car. You have given a ride to two friends who live in your neighborhood, who are sitting in the back seat of your car. You are chatting happily, discussing the events of the day. Laughing together. Just enjoying your life. You are looking forward to getting in the house, hugging your children, and sitting down to a nice dinner.
Then, imagine that suddenly gunmen come running from the side of the road, shooting into your car. Bullets are flying everywhere. The car stops because the driver’s foot falls from the gas pedal. After the car is stopped, the gunmen come running to the car, open the doors, drag everyone – already injured and bleeding - out onto the pavement, and shoot them at close range – killing everyone.
Then, the cowards run away as cowards always do. They go into hiding. And everyone in the nearby town where they live begins celebrating your deaths.
What I have described here is what happened earlier this week on a roadway in Israel. Hamas gunmen murdered four Israeli citizens in a well-planned ambush. The victims were: Yitzhak Ames, age 47 and his wife, Tali, age 45, who was nine months pregnant, Kochava ben-Haim, age 37, and Avishai Schindler, age 24. These were real live people with families and friends who loved them. They were murdered for no other reason than they are Jews. Jews, living in Israel.
Israel became an independent state in May 1948 after being recognized by the United Nations as a country in its own right. So, these four Israeli citizens had every right to be driving on that roadway. The Hamas terrorists did not have a right to be there for the purpose of killing them.
Less than 24 hours later another couple, Moshe and Shira Moreno, were also shot while driving in their car on a different road. The car was hit at least 10 times and overturned on the side of the road. The couple, in their 30s was able to get out of the car and hide in a ditch, and thankfullyk they survived the attack.
It is sometimes easy to forget that the people we hear about who are victims of terrorist attacks are real live people, with real live families. And sadly, the media oftentimes doesn’t even report on these kinds of stories. This kind of news isn’t popular. It makes the bad guys out to look like – well, bad guys. It is not something that most people want to think about at all.
It’s much easier to watch the news if they are reporting on things like hot air balloon rides. Or some medical breakthrough – which with US healthcare policies, no one will be able to afford anyway. Or some celebrity being arrested for drugs once again. Most people want fluff, not actual news.
It’s really past time for Americans to wake up and smell the falafel, as a friend of mine says. It’s time to stop pretending that Muslims and Palestinians are harmless people. It’s time to face the reality that anyone who refuses to live according to their demands will sooner or later be targeted to be murdered – just as these four innocent people were.
It doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Christian or Buddhist or secular. The goal of Islam (which Muslims and Palestinians are part of) is to kill everyone who does not accept their way of life. It is NOT a peaceful religion like many people would have us believe. It is a religion of hatred and terror. A religion of destruction.
A religion that teaches that it is ok to tape a bomb on your child or your mother or yourself and to kill as many innocent people as possible. A religion that encourages little children to hate people so they can carry on the death and destruction when they grow up. A religion that says it is acceptable to shoot innocent people while driving home at the end of the day.
We, here in America, can’t even imagine the possibility of gunmen running around shooting at our cars for the simple reason that we are alive.
Yes, there are crazies here too, who murder and maim people when they go on a rampage. In fact, we saw a story of one such man yesterday. But even these dangerous, crazy murderers are not in the same category as Hamas and other Muslim terrorists. They have lost their minds – not their souls.
I want to tell you a little about the four people who were murdered by Hamas terrorists this week. I didn’t know them. I had never met them, or read their blogs. I had never eaten a meal in their homes. But I know many other people who live in Israel, as they did, who face the same dangers every day of their lives. And I love them dearly and pray for their safety every day.
So, in honor of the four people who were taken from their families and friends I say, May the G-d of Israel avenge their blood, and may their memories bring blessings to those who will miss them.
Yitzhak Ames was a historian and was writing an encyclopedia of laws, customs, and artifacts associated with the Holy of Holies at the time of his murder. For the past seven years he visited the Temple Mount every month on Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the new month), and was a tour guide who accompanied groups to the Temple Mount area every Wednesday. He dedicated much of his time to studying and learning by heart all the relevant works in the Mishna and the writings of the Rambam.
This week he changed his normal routine and instead of going up on the Temple Mount on Wednesday, he went up on Tuesday – only a few hours before his death.
One of his closest friends was quoted as saying, “Yitzhak’s whole life was the Temple Mount. He worked as a security guard and a dishwasher, but this was his whole life.”
Only a few days before he was murdered he posted what ended up being his final blog entry. In that entry he said that this year on Rosh Hashanah he wasn’t going to pray for a livelihood as he as done in years past, but was going to pray that the Temple will be rebuilt.
Five years ago he moved his family to Gush Katif to show support for the families who were being evicted from their homes by the Israeli government in order to turn them over to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. They lived there for six months. During those six months he opened their home to all the activists who came to the area to protest the expulsion. (I was blessed to be able to go to Israel and attend several protest rallies and prayer rallies, but to my knowledge I never met Yitzhak.) The floor of the Ames home was completely filled with people sleeping there. They provided meals and hospitality for anyone who needed it.
Because of Yitzhak’s activism on behalf of Gush Katif the Israeli government revoked his permit to own and carry a firearm late last year. Had this not happened he would have been armed, and perhaps, could have fought off their attackers when they were ambushed?
Tali Ames worked as an accountant in addition to being the mother of six children. She was due to give birth to her seventh child in only a few days. Yitzhak and Tali celebrated their 25th anniversary two weeks ago.
Their children who were left to mourn them are: Daniel, 24 – Ruth, 19 – Ariel, 16 – Ruchama, 12 – Hodaya, 9 – and Oz, 5.
At the funeral of their parents Ruth said, “I didn’t have a chance to tell you how much I love you both. Mom, I promise you I will take care of the children that will grow up without you and Dad. Dad, I promise that I will continue your work with the Temple Mount. I will make sure families keep coming and that they love it as much as you do.”
Ariel eulogized his parents with these words, “Mother, father, something changed yesterday. You were a natural part of the family, and suddenly you’re not here. I can’t believe that a mother that took such good care of us is no longer here. Come back to me, mother.”
Kochava Ben Haim was married to Momi. She had suffered with poor health for many years, and with great difficulty was finally successful in becoming pregnant. She only had one child, a daughter, who is now eight years old.
Kochava was a special education nursery school teacher. She was on her way home to her family after attending the schools “welcome back” party at which her adoring special students, who are incapable of understanding hatred, decorated new school bags with her just one hour before she was murdered. She was also a very active volunteer in her community. She was always involved in preparing food for people in need. She also worked at preparing study sheets for the community so they could study Torah together.
Momi, a volunteer for Zaka (a community emergency response team), was dispatched to the scene of the attack with his colleagues, when to his horror he discovered that his wife was among the dead. He started crying and screaming, “That’s my wife! That’s my wife!” He was taken to his home, where he had to tell his daughter that her mother had been murdered and would never come home again.
At Kichava’s funeral Momi lamented the loss of his wife, saying, “My Kochava, my love, my partner, how will I say goodbye to you? I’m afraid. I just want you to stay. Monsters, cowards, to shoot innocent civilians – it’s cowardice to shoot a woman in a moving vehicle like that.”
Avishai Schindler had recently completed his army service. He got married a year ago, and was studying at a Hebron yeshiva (Torah school). He and his wife did not have children yet. They had only started their lives together, and now she is left to mourn him. Left to go on alone - never seeing their dreams and hopes come true.
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Palestianians celebrated in the streets after the murders.
Man handing out candy to the children who participated in the celebration.
Man holding his son on his shoulders, while the child waves a gun in the air.
People waving flags in celebration of the murders.
