Chaya Schijveschuurder to receive outstanding soldier award
I am sure that among the many terror victims a lot of you can probably name, the Schijveschuurder family stands out prominently. Both parents and three children were murdered in the Sbarro terror attack, and Chaya Schijveschuurder - pictured at the top of this post - was critically wounded.
Many of you may even recall some searing remarks that Chaya Schijveschuurder made at 2010's Memorial Day ceremony for terror victims.
When I woke up the night after the attack, there were people from my community next to me. I asked them what had happened to the rest of the family, and they told me that everything was okay, that they were hurt like I was. Afterwards, my brothers came back from the funerals, and I remember that I asked them why their shirts were torn. Then they told me that my parents, Ra’aya, Avraham Yitzchak and Chemda were killed.
The first question I asked was, “What? Who will cook and clean the house?”
I remember that Leah was always crying and I couldn’t understand why. I think that for this reason, it was good I was little. That way, I remember less and I understood less what this was. I didn’t understand what had happened. I didn’t cry, and I didn’t understand at all what this meant. I didn’t feel pain, and all the time there were people visiting me in the hospital.
I remember that whenever they would change my bandages, I would hit the nurses because it really hurt. I would wake up in the middle of the night and ask whoever was with me to take me on a tour of the hospital. Every time, someone else would be watching me. I had three operations, because I had a lot of nails in my body.
...
Mom and Dad! I found the earrings that you bought me. How happy I am. I always miss you, and always when there is something in the class, I shed a few tears. I want the Mashiach to come already as fast as possible so that we can all go together to the Beit Hamikdash.
I love you, Chaya
This morning, Chaya's cousin - who first got in touch with me when he ran the New York marathon to raise money for victims of 'Palestinian' terror - sent me this picture of Chaya, which I am sharing with you because Chaya put it on her Facebook page.
Every year on Independence Day (which is being celebrated next Thursday), outstanding soldiers are honored at the President's residence. Chaya is one of the soldiers being so honored.
Yedioth Aharonoth put the story on its Facebook page, and has asked people to 'like' it. So far, 7,572 people have. And it just went up yesterday.
Chaya Schijveschuurder's remarks on Memorial Day 2010
Chaya Schijveschuurder spoke at the ceremony for terror victims on Memorial Day in 2010. When I read her words, they tore at me. You should read them too. Here's an excerpt. (The picture is from her Facebook page).
It was a Thursday. We went to Jerusalem to go shopping. We all went, all except the older boys. We spent some time walking around in the city, and then we were hungry. At first, we went to Angel’s bakery in the Bell Center, but Ra’aya didn’t want to eat there. I remember that Dad took money out of the instant teller outside, and then we went to eat at Sbarro’s. I remember that we ordered food. My mother, Ra’aya and Chemda went to sit down because they didn’t have the strength to continue standing. My father, Leah, Avraham Yitzchak and I went to pay, and then there was an explosion. Apparently, I fell. I didn’t understand what had happened.
They told me that I lost consciousness immediately, but I remember that I went outside, and just then a pole fell from the shock wave, and I remember that I went over it.
I didn’t see anyone from my family. I don’t remember whether I looked. Medics rushed to me and poured water on my. I was put into an ambulance, and Avraham Yitzchak was lying there, and I called to him, “Avraham Yitzchak! Avraham Yitzchak!” But he didn’t answer.
They took me out on a stretcher, and took me to the hospital. They brought me to the trauma room, and I remember that I yelled, “Bring me my father! Bring me my father!”
They took pictures of me, because they thought that I had lost consciousness, and wrote next to the picture, “Chaya, approximately 8 years old.”
I remember that they tore off my clothes. My leg was full of blood, and I asked them if they would amputate my leg. They answered, “What are you talking about, look what a beautiful leg you have.”
Afterwards, I remember that I saw an operating room there, and I became tense and started crying. They immediately sedated me for the operation.
When I opened my eyes right after the operation, I saw Nechama there, my brother’s girlfriend. I constantly asked her what time it was. That’s what they told me.
When I woke up the night after the attack, there were people from my community next to me. I asked them what had happened to the rest of the family, and they told me that everything was okay, that they were hurt like I was. Afterwards, my brothers came back from the funerals, and I remember that I asked them why their shirts were torn. Then they told me that my parents, Ra’aya, Avraham Yitzchak and Chemda were killed.
The first question I asked was, “What? Who will cook and clean the house?”
I remember that Leah was always crying and I couldn’t understand why. I think that for this reason, it was good I was little. That way, I remember less and I understood less what this was. I didn’t understand what had happened. I didn’t cry, and I didn’t understand at all what this meant. I didn’t feel pain, and all the time there were people visiting me in the hospital.
I remember that whenever they would change my bandages, I would hit the nurses because it really hurt. I would wake up in the middle of the night and ask whoever was with me to take me on a tour of the hospital. Every time, someone else would be watching me. I had three operations, because I had a lot of nails in my body.
...
Mom and Dad! I found the earrings that you bought me. How happy I am. I always miss you, and always when there is something in the class, I shed a few tears. I want the Mashiach to come already as fast as possible so that we can all go together to the Beit Hamikdash.
Video: Rare interview with the surviving members of the Schijveschuurder family
On Tuesday, Israel's Channel 10 showed a rare interview with the surviving members of the Schijveschuurder family, whose parents and three siblings were murdered in the Sbarro suicide bombing. There is now an internet version of the interview, and I have it for you. The interview is in Hebrew, but an English summary will follow. This is not easy to watch.
Let's go to the videotape.
Here's an English summary (which someone who saw the program live sent me):
The programme began with a little biographical detail about the family - olim from Holland. It then moved on to the actual terror attack itself. The three older boys, Ben Tzion (who now lives abroad), Meir and Shvuel were not present. Ben Tzion and Meir were both in the army and Shvuel (who was 16.5 at the time) was on his way back from the Kleizmer festival in Tzfat.
The programme documented their search (alone - no outside help) for the members of their family in various hospitals. As Meir did not have any ID proving his connection to one of his sisters, he was not allowed to see her as she lay dying in the operating theatre, but minutes later was asked to identify her body. He - an 18/19 year old - ended up organising the funerals all by himself. Hevra Kadisha even had the gall to demand money from him (20,000 shekels - later returned) for two burial plots, stating that he could only have three.
He and his older brother took care of the younger surviving children (the youngest was 8) in the family home with no outside help. At some point the social services tried to take the two younger girls into care, but they objected. Afterwards the girls were sent to live with a distant relative in Switzerland for about a year, but were very unhappy there and came back to Israel. Later they were sent to live with another distant relative in Israel, but that didn't last long either and Meir and his wife took them in, whilst also raising their own young family.
Shvuel seems to have 'fallen between the chairs' perhaps most of all... [I deleted something here. CiJ][H]is attempts to get that help from Bituach Leumi have been rejected.
The programme ended with a 'right of reply' statement from Bituach Leumi which the presenters said they had fact checked and found to be lacking on certain points.
Apparently there is a serious problem with people who, as children, lost both parents in terror attacks. (A lady orphaned by the Ma'ale Akrabim attack briefly mentioned similar problems). The system does not cater for them properly ans seems to work on the premise that they will be taken care of by the extended family, but in this case there was not much extended family to help. There is an attempt ongoing to try to change the law, but it is clear that this family has already sustained far too much damage because of the system's shortcomings.
On top of all that, of course, they now have to deal with the insensitivity surrounding the release of their parents' and siblings' murderer.
There's more about this.... But I've given you enough to think about for now.
For those who missed it earlier, I have been sick in bed all afternoon and evening, and will be going back to sleep again shortly (there will probably be two more posts during the night and no more unless I wake up). What happens tomorrow remains to be seen - I cannot sit at the computer feeling like this.
As expected, the 'High Court of Justice' accepted the terrorists for Gilad deal on Monday. They put on a show for ten hours and did not deal with a single substantive issue, telling the families 'you knew this was coming.' Well, no kidding. But if the families had appealed earlier, they probably would have been told it's not ripe for appeal yet.
There's a lot of material in that link and I suggest that you read it all. Unfortunately, I am in no condition right now to respond to it all, but I will highlight a couple of points.
Mandel also emphasized that the decision to release the prisoners was a political decision made by the government.
"The court's role is to examine the legality of that decision, and not anything else," noted Mandel.
According to Mandel, 26 government ministers had agreed to the Schalit deal after hearing opinions of security professionals. The deal had been made in order to release Gilad Schalit while minimizing the risk to state security, she added.
Mandel also quoted a court ruling by Beinisch in 2009, in which the Supreme Court President had said that the court does not interfere in government decisions regarding state security.
So if the court doesn't itnerefere in government decisions regarding state security, why has it continually interfered with the route of the 'security fence'?
In their address to the court, petitioners attorney Zeev Dasberg argued that the President has no authority to grant pardons without first giving the injured parties an opportunity to oppose the pardon.
Dasberg was accompanied by legal expert Professor Gideon Sapir, who argued that releasing the prisoners violates international norms on punishment for terrorists.
However, state attorney Mandel countered by saying that Gilad Schalit's captivity also violates international law, including because he has been denied visitors for over five years.
What message does that send to Hamas? If you're going to kidnap IDF soldiers, don't let anyone see them, because that will make it easier for the court to uphold the release of terrorists in exchange for them....
During the hearing, Court President Beinisch noted as problematic the situation in which those terrorists who murdered Israelis are aware they will be released from prison in just a few years.
"The price is the cancellation of legal rulings that determined these people are in prison," Beinisch said. "There is no need to explain to us the history of this painful and very difficult dilemma."
Beinisch also said she thought the government is aware that terror victims' families are opposed to the deal.
"The difficulty, the pain and the injury is clear," Beinisch said.
And this is consistent with the rule of law?
For what it's worth, Noam Shalit was not allowed to address the court. I guess that was too much even for Beinisch.
The murderer of Malki Roth HY"D (May God Avenge her blood - pictured at left) will be released from jail on Tuesday and expelled to Jordan. The murderer, Ahlam Tamimi, has no regrets, and her brother - whom you will also see in the video below - acts like Tamimi didn't do anything wrong.
This video is from Friday night's Channel 2 news magazine. As of now, it's in Hebrew or in Arabic with Hebrew subtitles. When and if I get a version with English subtitles (it's allegedly being worked on), I will post it.
Let's go to the videotape. More below the fold, including a link to an English-language summary of the video.
The New York Times writes about it here. Note this from the Schijvesschuuder family, from which the parents and three children were murdered at Sbarro.
Early on Friday, a man who lost both his parents and three siblings in the pizzeria attack that killed Malka Roth defaced the Tel Aviv memorial to Yitzhak Rabin, the slain prime minister. The man, Shvuel Schijvesschuuder, 27, said he was protesting the freeing of his family’s killers.
“People don’t understand the horror of what has been going through my mind,” he said in an interview at his home near Tel Aviv after being detained and freed by the police. His brother, Meir, 32, said all five remaining members of the family would leave the country forever after the deal was completed.
“We feel betrayed and we are going back to Holland,” he said.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
I am sure that among the many terror victims a lot of you can probably name, the Schijveschuurder family stands out prominently. Both parents and three children were murdered in the Sbarro terror attack, and Chaya Schijveschuurder - pictured at the top of this post - was critically wounded.
Every year on Independence Day (which is being celebrated next Thursday), outstanding soldiers are honored at the President's residence. Chaya is one of the soldiers being so honored.
