Israel Matzav

And again: Jewish Israeli murdered in Etzion bloc

A Jewish Israeli was murdered yesterday near his home in Bat Ayin in the Etzion bloc. 42-year old Erez Levanon had gone walking in a remote area to meditate - a common activity for his Breslov Hassidic sect - when he was confronted and stabbed by 'Palestinian' terrorists sometime around 6:00 PM yesterday (sunset here is around 5:40 these days). His body was found late last night.

At approximately 6:00 p.m. Sunday, the victim was reported missing by a friend who was waiting to travel with him to Tel Aviv. Security forces found the Israeli's body later that night in a wood just outside the gate of his hometown of Bat Ayin. He was pronounced dead at the scene, having been stabbed and possibly attacked with an axe. The victim's car was stolen by the killers and used in their flight from the scene of the attack.

The victim was later identified as 42-year-old Erez Levanon of Bat Ayin. He was married and the father of three children. It is assumed that he went off by himself Sunday evening near his home to meditate in solitude, as is the custom of those affiliated with the Breslov Chassidic sect. Levanon was the sexton of the Breslov synagogue in Bat Ayin.

Eliyahu Mendelovitch, a neighbor of the victim who participated in the search and retrieval of Levanon's body, told Israel National News that the murder took place within what is defined as the municipal boundary of Bat Ayin, approximately 400 meters from the last house of the town. According to Mendelovitch, who was in the past a member of the Bat Ayin civilian security unit, the killers most likely waited in ambush for their victim, as Levanon regularly went into the same spot in the woods at the same hour every day to meditate.

The mainstream media's reaction to the murder has been to try to disparage Levanon by dismissing him as a 'settler' or by attempting to locate Bat Ayin next to Hebron (it's a good twenty minutes away by car and Levanon was murdered within walking distance of his home). In the minds of Israel's leftists 'settlers' are a lesser category of humans and those who live in Hebron are the worst 'settlers' of all. (Those of you who have been readers for a while know that I don't use the term 'settlers' because of its negative context among Israelis). As of a few hours ago, Haaretz was still reporting that his family did not want Levanon's identity revealed. It's much easier to forget about a victim who does not have an identity.


Gush Etzion Regional Council President Shaul Goldstein told Arutz Sheva what the mainstream media does not want to hear:

In reaction to the news of the murder, Shaul Goldstein, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, attacked the government policy of removing checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. He said that the murder should force officials to reevaluate the policy of removing checkpoints as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority. The fact that checkpoints were removed, according to Goldstein, is what allowed Levanon's killer or killers to arrive in the area, and to escape quickly after committing the murder.

Yes, but you can't really 'reevaluate' something honestly when your mind is made up regardless of the consequences. And besides, Levanon was 'only a settler' in the mind of the NIMBY-afflicted Israelis of Tel Aviv.

Update 6:45 PM

Two 'Palestinians' from the nearby village of Beit Omar have been arrested and charged with Levanon's murder.

The two suspects were identified as Khader Abu Daya and Moussa Khalil.

Following up on the lead, security forces raided the building and found the suspects. They were arrested and transferred to Shin Bet custody for interrogation.

According to defense establishment estimates, no official Palestinian organization was behind the attack, which was initiated by the two suspects.

In their interrogation, the two confessed to carrying out the murder, which they said was planned earlier, including patrols of the area. On the day of the attack, the two left their village in possession of knives, and after spotting Levanon they ambushed him and stabbed him to death for nationalistic motives.

Pamela at Atlas Shrugs has also posted a comment about this story.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:53 PM