Twenty-thousand people escorted the bodies of the five members of the Fogel family, killed over the weekend in a
gruesome terror attack, as they were laid to rest Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem.
Speakers at the service commented on the tragedy that took place and how it cannot break the spirit and determination of the Jewish people to settle and live on the land of Israel.
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IDF hunting for perpetrators of brutal Itamar killingsChief Rabbi Yona Metzger told mourners that "the murderers did succeed, but only in uniting us."
"No one can remain apathetic" after this event, he said.
Metzger cried out that, in response to this event, Itamar needs to become a city that is like a mother to Israel. "Another neighborhood, that's the answer. More building, that's the answer," he said.
The chief rabbi repeated the phrase, "In Yehuda, we will always settle and in Jerusalem, from generation to generation."
Vice Premier Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon blamed the Palestinian Authority and
its "education of violence" as the cause of the terrorism that
struck on Friday. He added that "our neighbors' education denies our
right to the land [of Israel]," teaching their children that "from the
Jordan [River] to the sea, Jews have no rights [to live]."
Ya'alon predicted that the murderers of the Fogel family will have city
squares named after them and be honored by PA. In light of this, he said
that any agreement signed with the Palestinians isn't worth the paper
it's printed on.
Saying that "we need to continue what our fathers did, to keep
building," the vice premier stressed that now is not the time to dwell on
security and new security packages. "We have never given up on our right
to this land," he said. "Anyone who gives up this right won't have
security either."
As revenge for the death of Udi, Ruth, Elad, Yoav and Hadas Fogel, "we
will live, we will continue to build and to plant, we will continue to
grip onto the land of Israel: in Itamar, in Beit Hagai, in Hebron and in
Jerusalem, everywhere and any time," Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said during his speech.
"More construction, more life, more hanging onto the land. This is our
answer to the murderers, so that they know they haven't gotten the
better of us. We will awaken our right to build anywhere and at anytime.
Construction in Israel is not a retaliation or revenge for the victim,"
Rivlin said.
"You were a symbol of the allegiance of the Zionist, the
Jew, the Israeli. Despite all the difficulties, you believed and you
overcame the hardships."
The five members of the Fogel family were killed in a terror attack in the
West Bank settlement of Itamar on Friday night. Udi, 36, his wife Ruth,
35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad, 4 and Hadas, 3 months were
stabbed to death by a terrorist who infiltrated the settlement. The
family is survived by their three additional children.