"We discovered the Jewish boy, and we immediately isolated the body"

"We received a message about the massacre in the elementary school – which is not a Jewish school, but it is known that many Jewish children attend state schools, so we hurried to the scene of the murder," says Jacob Novaks, a volunteer
in the ZAKA organization in Connecticut, who arrived at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown town on Friday, immediately after reporting of the horrific massacre which took place there - during which 27 people were killed, including 20 children, all first-graders aged six to seven and six staff members in the schools.

"There was terrible chaos. One cannot describe what was going on there. Bodies of children lay on the classroom floor in what seemed like pool of blood, hysterical parents, and frightened children. But to the authorities credit I say that despite the panic and confusion, they took control on the case very quickly, sorting the wounded and the dead, and began identification of the children's names at the scene.

"We hurried to follow the names of the victims, and we revealed the name of the 6 year odl Jewish child, Noah Pozner z"l. We quickly isolated the body. His mother who came to the scene of the massacre, helped us identify the body, and we right away made sure to maintain the dignity of the dead. The mother was hysterical of course. We tried to help her. Another two of her daughters were also students at the school, but miraculously were saved." Novaks says.

Members of the Jewish community in Connecticut spent time with the family during Shabbos. Noah's funeral was set first amongst the victims and will take place today, Sunday.


Parents of children killed in the massacre testified that they chose to raise their children in the quiet town in Connecticut, to give them a good and safe life. For example, Noah Pozner's family decided to move from Brooklyn, New York, a district where many criminal events occur, to the quiet town in Connecticut - just for this reason.

"They left New York for safety and education," said Noah's uncle, Arthur Pozner, to the Newsday newspaper. He said his nephew was "very mature, when I was his age I was not like that. He was raised well and was very smart."


Pozner said that his nephew had a twin sister his age, and 8-year-old sister, who both studied both in school.


Meanwhile, while the United States mourns for the victims of the horrifying massacre, the father of the killer - Adam Lanza, published a press release: "We sympathize with the families and friends who lost their loved ones, and everyone who was injured in the incident. Our family mourns along with anyone who has been affected by this terrible tragedy. No words can describe how much we are heartbroken.

"At this stage we cannot believe what has happened. We are trying to find the answers to all the questions - which we also ask. Currently we are cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies, and we shall continue to operate with them. Like many of you - we are very sad, but trying to find sense in the things that happened."

Criticism at the 'Saturday Herald: conducted with insensitivity

The American Saturday Herald Journal, sustained today (Sunday) criticism due to a lack of sensitivity it showed: the newspaper posted a story about the massacre that took place at the elementary school in Newtown, and next to it - a great advertisement for a special occasion of Christmas: buying an assortment of weapons.


Following the criticism directed towards the newspaper via the internet, editors published an apology.

"An advertisement for weapons appeared in our newspaper alongside the stories and images of the tragic case of the massacre of students in Connecticut," wrote the editors. "We promise you that the ad was not done with the intention of the newspaper or the advertiser.


"Advertisements are usually placed on the pages of the newspaper a few days before the paper reaches the threshold of your door", claimed the editors. "In this case, the ad location in question was decided on Thursday morning - before the massacre took place.

"Nevertheless, the editors and reporters who were covering the event in Newtown should have paid attention to the distortion of posting an ad of weapons near the horrific images documenting the murder. We all made a terrible mistake and we apologize for it," says an apology.


Editors have signed the announcement with the words: "Please be assured that the newspaper continues to reflect the reality wisely and sensitively to the audience of our readers."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!