Mother of Jerusalem stabbing victim 'chooses life'

"I emerged from there, from the darkest and most difficult place, and I am choosing life, my children give me this strength."

MARCH 19, 2018 10:04

Updated: MARCH 19, 2018 12:34

Adiel Kolman Z"L and his family (photo credit: COURTESY OF THE KOLMAN FAMILY) — Adiel Kolman Z"L and his family

(photo credit: COURTESY OF THE KOLMAN FAMILY)

Yael Kolman, the mother of Adiel Kolman, murdered in Sunday's Jerusalem stabbing attack, said she is "choosing life," in radio interviews on Monday.

"He was a special child, very sensitive [to others]," she said in an interview with Israeli radio station Reshet Bet. "He has four children and he is a wonderful and noble man. He would meet people on the street and tell them 'Shabbat Shalom.' Those people would light up inside."

ISRAEL POLICE ON THE SCENE OF A MARCH 18, 2018 STABBING ATTACK IN JERUSALEM"S OLD CITY (CREDIT: ISRAEL POLICE)

Kolman was killed in a terror attack on Sunday evening as he left his job at the City of David museum in the Old City and headed in the direction of Jerusalem's light rail, which was part of his normal routine. The terrorist stabbed him in the upper part of his body as he neared the area of the Lion’s Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. He was rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in serious condition and died just before midnight.

"I got to speak with Miriam Peretz. I told my family a sentence I heard from her: 'We choose life.' She strengthened me. I do not reach [the level of] her ankles. She gives me the strength to continue. I believe that if I remain strong, it will help the children."

Miriam Peretz, the mother of two Golani Brigade soldiers who were killed in combat in two separate wars, is the 2018 recipient of the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement and Special Contribution to Society.

"I am only interviewed in memory of Adiel, to spread his light to the world. My husband came home at [7 p.m.] and said, 'Something happened and I cannot tell you.' I asked him, 'Adiel?' He said 'yes.'"

In a separate interview on Army Radio, she described her reaction to the news.

"Yesterday... I was on the way [to the hospital] in a cab and I already felt like he was no longer with us. In that moment [I knew] he was entirely with God... I felt like he was close to [God]... you have to believe in God [also] when it is difficult. And I emerged from there, from the darkest and most difficult place, and I am choosing life, my children give me this strength," she said.

She also said Adiel, who will be buried in the settlement of Kochav Hasachar Monday at 11 a.m., is an embodiment of the family's love for the State of Israel.

"We are continuing on and [so] we will continue. Our children live across the Land of Israel, from the Golan to the beaches of Gaza, we will remain here, and we love the Land of Israel."

In the words of his mother, "Adiel was a jewel, and we called him our jewel."

Tovah Lazaroff, Lidar Gravé-Lazi and Avraham Gold contributed to this report.