Mourners Call Murder Of Israeli Settler A Terror Attack
(JTA) — Thousands of people gathered in the West Bank settlement of Elkana for the funeral of a resident whose body was found near an Arab village.
Reuven Schmerling’s body was found near Kafr Kassem, an Arab-Israeli village, on Wednesday with severe signs of extreme violence, the Israel Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Police and the Israel Security Agency are investigating whether his slaying was an act of terrorism or hate. The investigation’s details are subject to a gag order in Israel. Schmerling would have turned 70 when his body was found. His friends and family were waiting to celebrate the occasion Wednesday at his home in Elkana.
“Everything was ready for your birthday, we had prepared a song and a presentation, t-shirts and all, but only the birthday boy was missing,” his daughter, Idit, recalled at his funeral. “we never had the time to say goodbye and thank you for the important things you gave us: tremendous love, a beaming smile, Shabbat songs, being a devoted grandparent and for your love of fellow human beings.”
Nissan Slomiansky, a lawmaker for the Jewish Home rightist party, also attended the funeral. He spoke of Schmerling’s murder as a terror attack.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
