Thousands at funerals for terror victims

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Thousands of mourners gathered together with the husband and three surviving children of Lucy Dee as she was laid to rest on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after they buried her two daughters Maia and Rina. The three were shot and killed in an ambush by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank last week.

Lucy, 48, was critically injured in the Friday shooting and died of her wounds on Monday.

Friends, family, and residents of the Etzion bloc gathered at the Kfar Etzion cemetery, where Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were laid to rest on Sunday, to pay their respects to the girls’ mother. The family, who immigrated from the UK nine years ago, hold dual citizenship.

Keren Dee, 17, Lucy’s oldest surviving daughter, told mourners that “to lose a mother is like losing life.”

“Yesterday, I prayed that you would wake up. My heart hurts so much, I can’t lose you as well,” she said.

“You always told me that you were waiting for grandchildren, to be a grandmother. Now they’ll live and they won’t have the honour of meeting you. From five girls, we are now two,” Keren said.

“I can’t digest that it’s over. It’s impossible to put in words. I love you, Mom.”

Tali Dee, the youngest daughter, said she struggled to find the words to memorialise her mother.

“How do you go from everything to nothing? How will I manage to get out of my bed?”

“Among my sisters, they left me Keren. But there is only one mother. Mom, you always protected me from bad things. I wish your grandchildren will be like you,” she added.

Rabbi Leo Dee said he had lost his “best friend” with the death of his wife, with whom he shared so many meaningful life experiences.

“We literally travelled the world together. We made aliyah together. We built a new life for ourselves in the Promised Land,” he said. “You would frequently say that you couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Nor could I — even now, especially now.”

???? Dee family's heartbreaking eulogy to mother and wife, Lucy Dee, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in cold blood.

May the memories of Lucy, Maia and Rina forever be a blessing. ????️????️#StandAgainstTerror pic.twitter.com/SyfhAgPU9y

— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) April 11, 2023

Benjamin, Lucy’s brother, said she was an extraordinary woman who “always realised her goals.”

“She saw the world around her, in which she could make a difference, and fostered a feeling of togetherness in her community,” Benjamin said.

“She was a devoted mother to her daughters. Remember Lucy, Maia and Rina, remember all the good in this world, and what we can all do to turn the world into a better place,” he said.

Dee’s organs were donated and transplanted hours before the funeral, saving the lives of five people.

In the Friday attack, near the settlement of Hamra, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the victims’ car, causing it to crash on the highway’s shoulder. The terrorists then opened fire at the car again, killing the two sisters and critically wounding their mother.

The Israel Defence Forces launched a manhunt for the gunmen and other suspects who fled the scene, but they remained at large as of Tuesday. They were thought to be hiding in the northern West Bank.

Thousands of mourners gathered on Sunday afternoon to pay their last respects to Maia and Rina. They wept bitterly as the bodies of the two sisters were brought into the funeral hall, with Rabbi Leo Dee reaching out to his three other children for comfort.

Speaking of his daughters while frequently choking with emotion, he recalled their dedication to their studies, their commitment to the country, and the hopes and dreams they had for the future.

“The formula for faith is always to focus on what you do have and not what you do not have. I still have three wonderful children and a wonderful wife,” he declared.

???? There are no words, only heartbreak: Rabbi Dee eulogizes his two daughters, Maia and Rina, who were brutally murdered by #Palestinian terrorists just a few days ago. We mourn with the loved ones of sweet Maia and Rina in the wake of this tragedy. ????️????️#StandAgainstTerror pic.twitter.com/l4WfswyhFH

— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) April 9, 2023

“My beautiful perfect Maia, we named you ‘God’s water’ and you were so many people’s friend, flowing between so many different groups. You were always an angel, now you will always be our guardian angel.”

Addressing Rina, he described her as a dedicated student and friend, and a responsible person who others relied upon and trusted.

“People loved you and knew they could depend on you,” he said

“You dreamed of travelling the world, now you’re travelling to heaven.”

Meanwhile, Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was killed and seven other tourists were hurt in a terror attack on a promenade in Tel Aviv on Friday night.

According to law enforcement officials, the alleged terrorist carried out a car-ramming attack and attempted to open fire on Kaufmann Street, leaving a trail of carnage along several hundred metres and into the adjacent Charles Clore Park, a popular seaside promenade.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her solidarity with Israel following the “cowardly attack”.

“Deep sorrow and condolences for the death of one of our nationals, Alessandro Parini, in the terrorist attack that took place in the evening in Tel Aviv. Condolences to the victim’s family, to the wounded, and solidarity with the State of Israel for the cowardly attack that hit him,” she wrote on Twitter.

The terrorist in the Tel Aviv attack was named as Yousef Abu Jaber, 45, a resident of Kafr Qassem. He had no known prior security offences.

Tensions soared across the region late last week, with a rocket attack from Syria on Saturday night, a barrage of rockets from Lebanon on Thursday, rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli retaliatory strikes over the past week, clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank, and a suspected Iranian drone launched from Syria last week.

Times of Israel