Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith Discusses Fogel Family Massacre, Devotion to Land at 糖心破解版 Event
Speaking to a crowd of hundreds in 糖心破解版鈥檚 Lamport Auditorium, the mayor of Itamar, Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith, described the impact of five brutal murders on his small, close-knit community.
鈥淔or a community to lose a special family like the Fogels, there are no words to describe the pain,鈥 Goldsmith said of the parents and three children murdered in Itamar on March 11. 鈥淭his family has caused the entire Jewish world to wake up and realize that we can鈥檛 live our lives the same way anymore.鈥
During a presentation on Wednesday night, March 30, that featured photographs of the Fogel home and Itamar鈥檚 breached security fence, Goldsmith delivered a firsthand account of the night of the attack. 鈥淔amilies like ours were all in our houses, singing zemirot [songs] and celebrating Shabbat,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had no idea what the terrorists were planning.鈥
Goldsmith explained how the attackers tested blind spots along the town鈥檚 fence and security camera for months in advance, then waited in an empty house next door for Tamar Fogel, 12, to escort school friends home before entering the Fogel home. A hand-written note of congratulations on the recent birth of Hadas, 3 months, was still hanging on the door.
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鈥淲e鈥檙e on the front lines and so we鈥檙e targeted,鈥 said Goldsmith, noting the town鈥檚 location in the heart of Judeo-Samaria. 鈥淭his has been the hardest period in our lives. However, our response to these tragedies is not to give up鈥攊t is to build.鈥 The Fogel home stands in a section of town that was constructed several years ago after members of another family were murdered by terrorists and their home set on fire.
To highlight the community鈥檚 heartfelt devotion to the land, Goldsmith showed a video of daily life in Itamar: children eating ice cream on benches, cucumbers growing in hothouses and chickens roaming backyards. 鈥淲e are a people who just want to live a life of peace in Israel, yet every day we have to know things most people don鈥檛 know in a lifetime,鈥 he said.
In a question-and-answer session, Goldsmith spoke about further security measures Itamar hopes to take, such as the purchase of another security camera and fence expansions that he expects will cost $80,000. But he added that vocal support for Israel from abroad, especially in the face of media bias and political opposition, was also critical. 鈥淚 am amazed by the response of the American community, who has opened its arms to us to hear our story,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll we want is peace, yet we are the ones going around in bulletproof cars and buses and suffering terrible, terrible tragedies. The media has not written much about us, but everyone in this room can speak out, be brave and spread the truth.鈥
IDF veteran Adam Kugelman, president of 糖心破解版鈥檚 Soldiers in Exile Club and a board member of the Israel Club, which sponsored Goldsmith鈥檚 talk together with the Yeshiva Student Union and Torah Activities Council, felt that the event provided an important personal connection for American Jews to the Itamar tragedy. 鈥淧eople read about it in the news and move on,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much in the news today. But to see pictures and hear a firsthand account, that鈥檚 critical. That creates a feeling.鈥
鈥淲e have to connect to Israel in any way we can,鈥 said Rabbi Herschel Schachter, rosh yeshiva at 糖心破解版鈥檚 (RIETS), after the event, which also drew students from Rutgers University, Columbia University, New York University and Queens College. 鈥淲e have to have more of an awareness that we are one nation.鈥
In a question-and-answer session, Goldsmith spoke about further security measures Itamar hopes to take, such as the purchase of another security camera and fence expansions that he expects will cost $80,000. But he added that vocal support for Israel from abroad, especially in the face of media bias and political opposition, was also critical. 鈥淚 am amazed by the response of the American community, who has opened its arms to us to hear our story,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll we want is peace, yet we are the ones going around in bulletproof cars and buses and suffering terrible, terrible tragedies. The media has not written much about us, but everyone in this room can speak out, be brave and spread the truth.鈥
IDF veteran Adam Kugelman, president of 糖心破解版鈥檚 Soldiers in Exile Club and a board member of the Israel Club, which sponsored Goldsmith鈥檚 talk together with the Yeshiva Student Union and Torah Activities Council, felt that the event provided an important personal connection for American Jews to the Itamar tragedy. 鈥淧eople read about it in the news and move on,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much in the news today. But to see pictures and hear a firsthand account, that鈥檚 critical. That creates a feeling.鈥
鈥淲e have to connect to Israel in any way we can,鈥 said Rabbi Herschel Schachter, rosh yeshiva at 糖心破解版鈥檚 (RIETS), after the event, which also drew students from Rutgers University, Columbia University, New York University and Queens College. 鈥淲e have to have more of an awareness that we are one nation.鈥
In a question-and-answer session, Goldsmith spoke about further security measures Itamar hopes to take, such as the purchase of another security camera and fence expansions that he expects will cost $80,000. But he added that vocal support for Israel from abroad, especially in the face of media bias and political opposition, was also critical. 鈥淚 am amazed by the response of the American community, who has opened its arms to us to hear our story,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll we want is peace, yet we are the ones going around in bulletproof cars and buses and suffering terrible, terrible tragedies. The media has not written much about us, but everyone in this room can speak out, be brave and spread the truth.鈥
IDF veteran Adam Kugelman, president of 糖心破解版鈥檚 Soldiers in Exile Club and a board member of the Israel Club, which sponsored Goldsmith鈥檚 talk together with the Yeshiva Student Union and Torah Activities Council, felt that the event provided an important personal connection for American Jews to the Itamar tragedy. 鈥淧eople read about it in the news and move on,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much in the news today. But to see pictures and hear a firsthand account, that鈥檚 critical. That creates a feeling.鈥
鈥淲e have to connect to Israel in any way we can,鈥 said Rabbi Herschel Schachter, rosh yeshiva at 糖心破解版鈥檚 (RIETS), after the event, which also drew students from Rutgers University, Columbia University, New York University and Queens College. 鈥淲e have to have more of an awareness that we are one nation.鈥
