Naveh Chazan didn't expect his Shabbos bar mitzvah to end
this way. Relatives from all over the country had come to
spend Shabbos and celebrate with him in the Yeshivas Machaneh
Yisroel Shabbos Guesthouse in Jerusalem's Beis Yisroel
neighborhood.
The area is an old one built on a drained swamp. It is
entirely chareidi, and includes a harmonious mix of all
elements of the chareidi community: the Mir Yeshiva is
located there, as are chassidic institutions such as
Zevhill, as well as several Sephardic schools including the
Machaneh Yisrael yeshiva. The Machaneh Yisroel yeshiva is a
quiet, steady influence for Torah and teshuva directed
mainly to Sephardim. The neighborhood is adjacent to Meah
Shearim and Geulah.
Naveh told reporters that, "It was very scary. I still don't
believe that it happened after such a wonderful Shabbos. What
a pity that it ended this way."
Naveh himself was not at the scene at the time of the
explosion because he had gone to daven ma'ariv at a
nearby shul. "I reached the guesthouse courtyard a bit
later, and that's what saved me. I finished davening
and suddenly heard the explosion. Someone told me that my
mother was crying, so I immediately started looking for her.
At the same exact time, she was running around, looking for
me." Only after many long tension-filled minutes, mother and
son found each other.
Almost every Shabbos, Jewish families eager to come closer to
Yiddishkeit spend Shabbos in the Shabbos Guesthouse. There
they experience the neighborhood's Torah and mitzvos way of
life. They didn't expect it to end like this.
On the day following the horrendous terrorist attack in
Jerusalem's Beis Yisroel neighborhood, the streets were
filled with people. People streamed to the place where the
Tanzim suicide terrorist blew himself up in a devastating
attack, cutting off the lives of ten Jews, Hy"d, and
wounding more than fifty others.
Hundreds of people gathered at the site of the attack
throughout the day. Many recited pirkei Tehillim for
the swift recovery of the scores of wounded, some of whom are
still in critical condition. With a sefer Tehillim in
his hand and tears in his eyes, one of those present
remarked, "The Jewish people must return in teshuvoh
sheleimoh. We are in desperate need of Heavenly
mercy."
Throughout the night following the attack, scores of ZAKA
volunteers performed their holy duties. The ZAKA volunteers,
along with those of Hatzoloh Yerushalayim, were the first on
the scene following the attack. ZAKA headquarters is located
a mere fifty meters from the scene of the attack. On
motzei Shabbos at the time of the attack, the
organization's regular weekly meeting was taking place. The
horrifying explosion was heard as the meeting started, and
the volunteers rushed out to the scene.
Many ZAKA volunteers are also volunteers in Hatzoloh. While
tending to the wounded, they donned their Hatzoloh uniforms.
These were traded for ZAKA vests a few hours later.
Identification of the victims at Abu Kabir took many hours.
Since the materials worn by the suicide bomber contained a
large amount of shrapnel intended to magnify the destructive
effects of the explosion, the bodies of the meisim,
Hy"d, were in a bad state. D. N. A. tests were used to
facilitate identification of the bodies.
ZAKA and Hatzoloh had some complaints about Mogen David
Adom's handling of the victims. The first MDA ambulances
reached the scene only about fifteen minutes following the
shocking blast.
