There once was a nice Christian family who lived in a friendly little town mountain top town with a population of about 1000. The members of the family were: a Father, a Mother, and their six children: a daughter, 12 years old, four sons, ages 11, 6, 4, 2, and another daughter, 3 months old. The couple had always wanted lots of children and were so happy that they had been blessed with such a large family.
The Father was a minister and teacher at the seminary. The Mother was a homemaker - busy with the children and also very active as a volunteer at the school and in many things in town. Before the baby girl was born she had worked part-time but needed to be at home with the baby, so had to give that up. They were not worried about money. They knew that God would provide everything they needed. He always had.
They were avid gardeners and good neighbors. They were well loved by everyone in town. The children had lots of friends, and it was a common sight to see their friends coming and going from the house. Theirs was a house filled with love!
They were a religious family and attended church every Sunday. Their religion was very real and they loved God with all their hearts and souls. They were very generous and loved to help people any time they saw a need.
Ever since the Father and Mother had been married they would come home from church every week and have a special lunch that had been lovingly prepared by the Mother. They often invited guests to sit at their table. The Mother was a wonderful cook. It gave her such joy to bake homemade breads, cakes, and prepare special foods every Sunday. Every week she would use her beautiful dishes and crystal, set out on her lovely table coverings.
During lunch they would always talk about the sermon and what the children had learned in Sunday School. They would sing songs together, talk about the things that were important to them, and pray together.
Many times the Grandparents would come for Sunday lunch, but if they didn’t, the Family would call them on the phone so everyone could talk. They knew it was a real blessing that the children had both sets of Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles in their lives.
But everything changed for the family last weekend.
That day started out just like any other Sunday. The Mother got up very early to prepare everything so it would be ready when they got home from church as she did every week. Then they went to church. It was a wonderful service.
When the service was over they came home and enjoyed the delicious meal the Mother had prepared. The oldest daughter had invited some friends to come home with her, and when they finished eating they all left to go to a youth group meeting.
The Father phoned his parents to talk to them while the Mother started getting the younger children down for naps. After the Father got off the phone he went to lay down with the baby to take a nap too.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Two men sneaked into their house through a window. They started going through the house, quickly going from room to room. The Mother was in the bathroom when the intruders went into the master bedroom and slashed the throat of the Father and the 3 month old baby girl. When she came out of the bathroom she was stabbed. Evidence showed that she tried to fight off her attackers.
The murderers then went into another bedroom where the eleven year old son was laying on his bed reading. Above his bed was a poster with this prayer printed on it: May it be Your will, Lord that I love every one as myself, and that you cause the hearts of my friends and neighbors to love me fervently, and that I be accepted and desirable to everyone, and that I be loving and pleasant, and that I be gracious and merciful in the eyes of all who see me.
They slashed his throat. Then they went on to another room where they stabbed the four year old boy in the heart. Apparently they did’t see the two year old who was in the same room because he was spared. He was possibly under the blankets asleep, but no one will ever know for sure.
They then locked the doors, and went out the same window they had come in through. And by a miracle the six year old boy, taking a nap on a sofa in the family room - was also spared. The murderers escaped without being seen by anyone in town.
The 12-year-old daughter returned home after the youth group meeting and found the door locked. She knocked and yelled, trying to get someone to let her in, but no one opened the door.
She noticed muddy foot prints near the entryway, and got scared since no one would open the door. She went to a neighbor’s house and asked if he could help her. They looked in the window and saw the six year old asleep. Everything seemed in order - other than the muddy footprints both inside and outside the house. They yelled and knocked on the window, waking the sleeping boy up, telling him to open the door.
He did, and the neighbor went back home as the 12 year old daughter went inside. She saw the unwashed dishes cleared from the table, a hot plate, a tray of almost untouched cookies, toys scattered on the floor, a cradle - and muddy footprints everywhere. She went to her parents bedroom to find out what had happened.
When she entered her parents’ bedroom she saw the horrific blood-soaked scene and discovered the bodies of her parents and infant sister. The two year old boy was lying next to his bleeding parents, shaking them with his hands and trying to get them to wake them up. He was crying.
She then ran to the other rooms and saw her murdered brothers in their rooms. She ran out of the house screaming. The same neighbor who had just helped her immediately came running back, and called the police. Emergency personnel came quickly.
The children's paternal Grandfather recounted the difficult moments his family faced on that horrible day last weekend. "We received the grim news about the attack …we were driven to my son’s home and saw the scene of the despicable murders. We returned home with the three kids who remained alive," he said.
The small town’s mayor (who is the brother-in-law of a dear friend of mine) said the local residents are in shock, trying to digest an attack that was so shocking and brutal. “They are still trying to absorb what happened, something so cruel, so brutal, a husband and a wife and three children murdered in their home, there’s no words that can describe it.“
He described the family as a very special family that was very involved in making their town a better place for all the families there. More than 20,000 people attended the funerals for the family. That is an indication of how much they will be missed.
It has been a very sad week for me, thinking about all this pain and violence. But I don’t think most people even heard about it. With all the sad news coming out of Japan - hundreds, perhaps, thousands of other people losing their lives - the media kept us updated on that situation, and the story of this beautiful family got lost somehow.
I don’t know if this true story has affected you after having read about it or not. But I have not been able to get it off my mind - out of my thoughts. I didn’t know this family. But people who are important to me did. And I wanted to do something to bring the victims of this horrible crime to the thoughts of as many people as possible. They were real people. With real lives. Real hopes and dreams. Accomplishing real things in this world. And now they are gone. Taken away from the world by hatred and violence. And I am outraged. I am broken hearted.
So, this is my tiny little way of helping the world to recognize the great loss of their lives. It is my way of letting the world know that I don’t want to see hatred and violence continue in the world. It is my way of saying goodbye to people that mattered. To say to the murderers: you have left a big hole in the world by taking these people out of it.
There are a couple of things that I changed about the story when I wrote about it. Oh, it is a true story. But this family was not a Christian family. They were Jews. The father was a rabbi and teacher at a yeshiva (Torah school), not a minister. The mountain top town they lived in is in Israel. And they were killed on the Sabbath (Friday night) and not on Sunday. The rest of the story happened as I told it.
And the murderers were not only murderers, they were Palestinian terrorists. The same kind of people who flew airplanes into the twin towers and the Pentagon and murdered so many of our good citizens on that horrible day in 2001. Those terrorists were not from Palestine, but they are of the same belief system. And part of the same organizations of hate and destruction. They are people who hate both Jews and Christians. People who hate Israelis and Americans. And everyone else too.
The reason I told the story the way I did is that so many times we simply choose not to notice a story if it concerns people who are of a different race or religion. Or someone who lives far away - all the way across the ocean. After all, there is enough trouble right here. And everyone blogs and writes articles all the time. We are always being bombarded with details and information about everything going on. It can be overwhelming, I admit.
But I am not sure that people are really aware of the dangers so many families in Israel - like the one that was brutally murdered last week - face daily simply because they are Jews. Jews living in the Land of Israel. Legally. And rightfully.
Our own government treats them as our enemy rather than our ally. Every year our government officials send millions of tax payers’ dollars to the very organizations and groups that carry out terror throughout the world. And they pressure the government officials of Israel to stop defending the citizens who are attacked by those who have publicly and openly stated that their goal is to kill every Jew on the face of the earth. (Then all the Christians.) In essence, our government has taken sides with the murderers and terrorists. And they are using our money to do it. Shame on them.
I admit I feel helpless when it comes to making much of a difference. I vote. And I try to make myself aware of what goes on in the world. And I write to my representatives and congress members telling them what I think about things. I ask questions. I point out what I think needs change. But truthfully, I feel that it is a waste of my time and efforts.
Our political system is out of control. It is filled with corruption.
My bringing this story to you is not in any way a political statement - although I do completely disagree with US policy when it comes to Israel defending its citizens. It is simply my tribute to a family that was taken away from the world when two terrorists decided to end their lives last week. It is my offer of condolences and sympathy to the surviving children, and other family members. It is the only thing I have to offer in my grief.
May God avenge the deaths of these innocents soon and completely. And may the surviving children be nurtured and provided for by the loving hand of the Almighty.
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I am ending my post with a request, followed by photos of the murdered family. The photos were released by the family with full permission so the horrific reality of their loved ones being murdered while sleeping will be known throughout the world. The world deserves to know that these people were loved. That their lives mattered. Warning: The photos are very graphic in nature. The faces of the victims have been blurred - but not changed in any other way.
My request is this…
On Friday night (March 18) after sundown, please join me in lighting a candle to honor the memory of the Fogel Family who was murdered last Friday night as they slept. Let this small effort serve to unite us all in peace and hope for a better future. Shalom.
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View of Itamar, Israel, home to approximately 1000 people
The home of the Fogel Family - with the announcement poster for baby Hadas still on the front door
Rabbi Udi Fogel, age 36, beloved husband, father, son, brother, teacher, and friend to many
Ruth Fogel, age 34 loved life, loved her children and family, and loved God
Yoav Fogel was the oldest son of Udi and Ruth
Elad, only 4 years old when he was brutally murdered by terrorists
Baby Hadas, only 3 months old was a beautiful baby girl
Udi and Hadas both had their throats cut by the terrorists
Yoav was reading in his bed when he was murdered
Elad was murdered but his little brother was spared
Many people attended the funerals of the Fogel Family
Police estimate there were 20,000 mourners at the funeral. There are many more throughout the world who did not attend.
The shrouds holding the bodies of the young Fogel children
Ruth's father weeps at the funeral of his beloved daughter and her family
It was a sad day for humanity with many tears shed in grief
Unbelievably, Palestinians began celebrating the deaths of the family as soon as it was announced. They passed out candy in the streets as a symbol of sweet victory at the death of more Jews.
Such unbelievable behavior is impossible for normal human beings to understand...
But, as we all know, terrorists are not normal human beings.
Please join me and thousands of others throughout the world on Friday night in lighting a candle to remember the Fogel Family and as a symbol of your hope that we will somehow all work together to bring peace to the world.
