Although terrorism has been a threat to the security of the Jewish population of the Land of Israel since 1881-82, the period of the First Aliyah, victims of terror were not formally recognized as such until 1998, when a monument in memory of terror victims was erected on Mount Herzl. Even then, there were bureaucratic obstacles on the path to full recognition.
Mount Herzl has a military cemetery. However, since most of the victims of terrorism were civilians, what applied to fallen soldiers did not apply to them. In the final analysis, it was decided to hold a separate memorial ceremony for civilian victims on Mount Herzl on the same day as the ceremony for fallen soldiers.
Some families attend both ceremonies, having lost a loved one in the army and another in a terrorist attack.
On Thursday of last week, President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, hosted a presidential ceremony at the President’s Residence for victims of terrorism. They had hosted a similar ceremony earlier in the week for families of fallen soldiers.
Among those who attended the Victims of Terrorism meeting was Abie Moses, the founder and chairman of the National Organization of Terror Victims. In 1987, Moses and his family were driving along the Alfei Menashe highway to buy groceries. Their car was fire-bombed.
His wife, Ofra, who was pregnant, was burnt to death, and his five-year-old son, Tal, was critically injured and spent three months in hospital before he died. Moses and his other two children, Nir, 15, and Adi, nine, also suffered severe burn injuries and spent long periods in hospital.
Following his own traumatic experience, Moses decided to dedicate himself to the families of victims of terrorism.
Death visits every family at some stage, but more often than not, it is expected because the deceased had a terminal illness or had lived to a very advanced age. But in a terror attack, everything is so sudden, and neither illness nor age can be attributed to a person’s demise. It is vicious hatred and violence, which adds to the emotional grief of the bereaved.
Moses fought for victims of terror to be recognized on Remembrance Day for the Fallen and is still fighting for their families to receive the same rights as soldiers. There is no difference when civilians and soldiers are killed by the same enemy, he contends, adding that the reasons are also the same – “They are killed because they are Israelis or because they are Jews. They are no less heroes than fallen soldiers.”
Herzog seemed to be inclined to agree.
Addressing the families, he said, “You are all reluctant heroes. You have shown that despite this terrible tragedy, you have continued with your lives.”
An intimate gathering
This meeting was somewhat different from the ones he usually holds. Most obvious was the seating arrangement of a three-row semicircle, which created an aura of intimacy.
In welcoming the families, Herzog made a point of saying that this was an informal gathering at which he and his wife wanted to learn from the families about each victim. “We want to listen and to hear,” he said.
Indeed, their facial expressions and body language indicated how moved they were by what they heard.
Among the families present was that of 15-year-old Bat-Chen Shahak, who was one of the 13 people killed in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center when a suicide bomber blew himself up in March 1996 on the eve of Purim.
Herzog said that he remembered the incident “because the blast could be heard all over Tel Aviv.”
Not all the families present knew each other. They came from Tel Mond, Nitzanim, Beersheba, Meitzar, Lod, Jerusalem, and Shfaram. But they listened to each other intently, wiping an occasional tear, as the voice of a speaker was momentarily blocked by an unbidden lump in the throat. They could all identify with each other regardless of whether they were mourning a child, a sibling, a spouse, or a parent.
Time did not heal the pain, but people found different ways of dealing with it.
As is common at almost every shiva (mourning period), families learned many positive things about their loved ones that they had not known before. One mother was so inspired by what she learned about her daughter that she joined all the organizations her daughter had been active in to continue her work.
Most of the speakers expressed appreciation for the Herzogs' interest, to which Michal Herzog responded, “Our hearts are with all of you.”