Mother of bereaved family cries out for help, "the only body that helps us is IDF"

"My daughter the widow and her children are in great distress, I expect the Haredi activists to recruit and help," said Rebbetzin Miriam Gal, mother of the widow of the attack in the Old City, Adele Bennett in a special interview with Behadrey Haredim.

Tonight (Tuesday), which marks the shloshim to the murder of Nehemiah Lavi and Aharon Bennett (Benita) HYD, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot came to console the family.

He visited the widow Adele who lost her husband and she and her son was injured in a terror attack in Jerusalem on the night of Hoshana Raba. The visit was also joined by the head of project to integrate haredim in the Technology and Logistics Division of the IDF, Yossi Cohen.

Miriam Gal, Adele's mother and mother-in-law of Aharon HYD, told Behadrey Haredim about the visit: "Yesterday was the thirtieth of the death of Aharon. The Chief of Staff came to see how the widow is, and he sat with us for an hour and a half and listened intently. We told him about our pain, about the reality in which the people of Israel are found. We asked to meet the measure of the law with all those who assisted the terrorist.

"The 'shloshim' day was very difficult for the widow," says the mother, "Adele did not sit shiva, and suddenly yesterday was the first time she stood in front of the grave. It was not easy."

Her physical condition, too, is not easy says the mother "The killer ripped six tendons and she remained crippled in her hand." However she added: "What happened to her - that she managed to run away and avoid the killer's knife, is nothing short of miraculous. The police investigator told her that after 17 stab wounds she suffered, it is not clear how she got up and managed to run. It saved her life."

Her little son Natan, who was wounded in the attack, is still in need of surgery. The psychic trauma is still fresh, "the boy asks" Where is Daddy?" and we have to tell him 'Father in heaven'. He wakes up from his sleep, shouting and screaming. It's very hard."

"To the rented apartment in Betar Illit, where they lived," says the Rebbetzin, "Adele can not go back. It's full of memories of Aharon. I understand her. The problem is, that my house too has no place. We live in a two-room apartment. So, we hired a week ago a larger apartment so we live together. We'll have to sell our home and buy a bigger one, so we can give Adele all the assistance and support to continue her life and help her in raising two orphans".

Call for help
The mother wishes to relate to a painful issue: "We received a lot of reinforcement from the general public," she says, "We walk down the street, and people stopped us and told us they took upon themselves good deeds in our merit. This story shocked them deeply. And we can say that all walks of the nation are embracing her. We are very grateful to the chief rabbis who came to visit us that really made us stronger."

"But on the other hand," she adds in pain, "we still need help. We need strength from rabbis and Gedolei Yisrael. The couple lived in Beitar Illit," she reminds, "but right now, they do not have an apartment, they have no place to live."

"Right now," she adds, "the only body that helps and treats and cares without any hesitation is the IDF, where Aharon served before his death. But we need further assistance from anyone who can provide it." Adele, the bereaved widow, adds: "We have gone through a story which is not simple, a very big trauma. I get a lot of warmth and love from the public, and I appreciate that very much. But, to recover in the best way, so that we can come back to life in an economically optimal way, I've must get help, for me and for the orphans.

"Aharon HYD is the one who conducted our home. He was our economical backing. Now I have to deal with the empty space he left behind, mentally and financially. Please make your donation to us," she says in a painful conversation with Behadrey Haredim.

As it turns out embarrassingly, while Nehemiah Lavi's family has been embraced by the entire public, visits by rabbis and senior officials of the sector, and a fund was established which managed to mobilize hundreds of thousands of shekels in favor of the family, with Aharon HYD this did not happen. Except for the chief rabbis - no major rabbinical figure came to console the family.
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Documentation of the stabbing attack

As several acquaintances of the family complain, it was completely abandoned even by haredi activists. Acquaintances wonder why a fund was not established in Beitar for the widow, and why it was not cared for her replacement housing.

Regarding the Haredi public which is known for the mutual aid community, that is puzzling. Some attribute it to the fact that Aharon HYD served in the IDF Haredi service. Despite the fact, as family members explain, that he did it out of necessity, after the Vaad Hayeshivos did not help him solve the problem of his draft. "Aharon did not want to enlist, they forced it on him. He turned to Vaad Hayeshivos and other functionaries and it did not help," says his mother-in-law.
In the attack, Adele was wounded moderately with her two-year-old son. The massacre also took the life of Rabbi Nehemiah Lavie (41) HYD.

This Sunday, an indictment was filed against Abdul Aziz Meri resident of Abu Dis for urging and aiding Muhannad Halabi, who carried out the stabbing and shooting attack in Haguy street in the Old City.

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