Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and its National President Morton A. Klein and Chairman Mark Levenson, Esq. mourn with all our hearts two inspiring Israelis – Rabbi Ahiah Ettinger and Sgt. Gal Keidan – murdered by a despicable Arab terrorist this week. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Rabbi Ettinger and Sgt. Keidan. We also pray for the recovery of Alexander Dvorsky, a third young Israeli gravely injured by the same Arab terrorist in attacks near Ariel, Samaria, Israel.
Rabbi Ahiah Ettinger, a 47-year-old resident of the town of Eli in Samaria, was a devoted father of twelve children ranging from a baby of 18 months to age 22. Rabbi Ettinger’s daughter is expecting a baby in a few weeks – but now the Rabbi’s soon-to-be-born grandson will never know his heroic grandfather. Rabbi Ettinger was also the beloved head of Yeshiva Oz Vemuna (Strength and Faith) in southern Tel Aviv, which brought hope to this impoverished area.
Rabbi Ettinger died trying to save other innocent Jewish civilians whom the Arab terrorist was shooting at. While he was wounded, Rabbi Ettinger bravely shot at the Arab terrorist, causing the Arab terrorist to flee, likely preventing the Arab terrorist from perpetrating further carnage.
Sergeant Gal Keidan, a 19-years-young IDF soldier from Beer Sheva, was also murdered by the Arab terrorist. The Aish HaTorah Jewish educational organization described Sgt. Keidan as follows: “A gifted musician, he had dedicated ten years to mastering a rare instrument – the mandocello. At his funeral held on Monday, he was eulogized as an inspiring young man who ‘loved to play music, spread that love to those around him and left behind him both admiring students and teachers alike at Beer Sheva’s musical conservatory.’” (See “Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger, Murdered in Terror Attack, Built Bridges between Israelis,” by Adam Ross, Aish, Mar. 19, 2019)
Alexander Dvorsky, also a 19-years-young IDF soldier, was gravely injured by the Arab terrorist. Mr. Dvorsky had to fight for his life initially, but is now reportedly out of mortal danger, yet is still in intensive care. Aish HaTorah wrote about Alexander Dvorsky: “Having grown up in Moldova, he made aliya on his own with a Youth Aliya program and volunteered to serve in a combat unit. In recent years, some of his family members had followed his example and also moved to Israel as well.”
Sadly, these sorts of horrors perpetrated by Arab terrorists have been a regular occurrence. The Palestinian Authority leadership continues to incite terror attacks, by giving hundreds of millions of dollars per year of reprehensible “pay to slay” pensions to terrorists to murder Jews, and by repeatedly broadcasting PA dictator Mahmoud Abbas’s calls to spill blood, glorifying terrorists who murder Jews, and teaching schoolchildren to hate and kill Jews.
Just like the vicious perpetrator of the murder of innocent Muslims in an Australian mosque, and the vicious Islamist Fulani terrorists who perpetrated the monstrous slaughter of innocent Christians in Nigeria, the Palestinian-Arab terrorists who murder innocent Jews are nothing less than evil that must be purged from the face of the earth.
The world must not remain silent in the face of the ongoing slaughters of innocent Jews in Israel.