Jerusalem chief rabbi visits parents of slain Iyad al-Halak
Rabbi Aryeh Stern expressed his pain over killing of special needs man by border police, tells parents he was bringing ' message of peace and reconciliation.'
By JEREMY SHARONChief Rabbi of Jerusalem Aryeh Stern visiting parents of Iyad al-Halak who was killed on Saturday by border police(photo credit: OFFICE OF CHIEF RABBI OF JERUSALEM ARYEH STERN)
The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, visited the mourning tent on Tuesday afternoon for Iyad al-Hallak, who was killed by border police on Saturday in an incident that had been widely condemned.Al-Hallak, who was autistic, was passing close to the Lion’s Gate outside the Old City of Jerusalem when he was told by border police to stop, suspecting that he was carrying a weapon.Al-Hallak was unarmed however, but fled when apparently frightened by the border police demands, who pursued and shot him dead.Stern went to the mourning tent in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of east Jerusalem accompanied by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum to give their condolences to al-Hallak’s parents and family.At the entrance to the tent Stern met with Sheikh Ibrahaim Abu al-Ahawa from the Ras al-Amud neighborhood and the mukhtar of Silwan, Daoud Siam.The rabbi said he was coming with “a message of peace and reconciliation,” and expressed his pain over the death of al-Hallak, adding that he was “praying that we should not need weapons in this region and for an end to bloodshed.”Al-Hallak’s father thanked Stern for his comments and thanked them for their visit, adding that “we all want to live together in peace.”Hassan-Nahoum said that “the pain of a mother who loses her son is the same regardless of color or religion. We must do everything we can to prevent tragic incidents like these in the future.
