In a tragic incident on Thursday morning, a Palestinian Ger Tzedek, Dovid ben Avraham Avinu, was killed by a reserve soldier who suspected him of being a terrorist.
The incident occurred at a bus stop near the Elazar junction near Chevron. A reservist spotted a man who got out of a Palestinian taxi at a bus station who aroused his suspicions because it was near a Jewish area that Arabs did not usually frequent. Upon searching the bag, the soldier found a small kitchen knife which the niftar always carried with him for self-defense but never used, and opened fire at him, fatally wounding him. There were no indications that the niftar was trying to attack the soldier but sadly, due to the tense security situation, soldiers are constantly on edge.
He was later identified as Dovid ben Avraham Avinu, z’l, [Sameh Zaytoun], 63, a Palestinian who was megayeir at the Beis Din of HaRav Nissim Kareliz, z’tl of Bnei Brak. He was refused Israeli citizenship as apparently, the State Beis Din will not be megayeir Palestinians and he continued to live among Arabs who abused and ridiculed him.
The niftar’s grandfather saved 25 Jews from being murdered during the Chevron massacre in 1929 by hiding them in his home, which perhaps kindled the nitar’s interest in Yiddishkeit. He learned Torah at Machon Meir and with Rabbanim in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. But because he never received Israeli citizenship or even received a permanent entry permit or work permit, he lived between two worlds.
After his giyur, he was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and suffered torture and beatings in prison, where he suffered for 58 days before being released. “They put me in the government building in Chevron with other people and the guards told everyone that I converted and that I’m a Jew,” he said after he was released. “The other prisoners constantly attacked me, strangled me, and beat me.” He was later moved to solitary confinement.
Muslim clerics demanded that he retract his decision to join the Jewish people but he refused. “I didn’t agree in any way,” he said. “I chose to be part of the Jewish people and I have no intention of changing my mind. I suffered a lot, they gave me bread as dry as a stone and a little potato that wouldn’t even satiate a mouse. They didn’t give me water. I fainted three times and then they brought me to the hospital.”
The IDF issued a statement following the incident, saying that an investigation has been launched into the incident by the Military Police and the reserve soldier who shot him is being questioned under warning.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
29 Responses
more Jews getting murdered by zionists, when will their destructive tyranny stop?
BDE
The state of Israel have a lot to answer for his mistreatment!
it’s easy to shoot someone with a kippa
Why are some of these posts choshed bikisherim. Why are you assuming that the shooting was on purpose or was directed specifically because the person wore a kipah? Not appropriate especially on Taanis Esther.
Wow you aimless and bored golus jews just be quiet. go to costco and get 10 pounds of preservatives or something! You have no idea what you are talking about! we are in a war and these tragedies can happen!! Stop parroting neturei karta cholei nefesh. who is a zionist according to you? who?! you misguided history enthusiasts?? Explain yourselves! Get into the present reality, recalibrate, and try to use your small mind to assess the situation. Or just go look for the best hamantashen in flatbush, or take a kosher cruise to the bahamas and sunbathe while reading 1000 plus pages of the empty wagon, its perfect for your empty minds. Purim Sameach!
More blood spilled by the zionists!!
Bad enough the Muslim Palestinians, who are Geray Toshav, but a Ger Tzedeck?
I’m not saying the soldier is to blame, but the State of Israel, which violates The Law over and over again, will not be mgayer Palestinians.
Why not?
There are not Cnaanim!
This would NOT have happened if he would have been accepted by the government.
Fake converts are accepted, but Real Geray Tzedeck are rejected because of their ethnical background.
Zionist Racism at its finest.
Unless the reason is because they are afraid of terrorism??
Even Muslim can become citizens, why can’t he??
ברוך דיין האמת – this is a real tragedy.
Is there any information Levaya and Kevura? David be Avraham Avinu is a Meis Mitzvah…
an Israeli Yid
Such a tragic story.. it should never have happened if he was treated the way a ger should have been treated..Can’t understand why people didn’t help him obtain Israeli citizenship if in fact as it seems his geirus was 100%. What happened to ואהבתם את הגר? Nebech he suffered through it all and ultimately paid with his life…
“Due to intense security.”
Due to a lack of Jewish heart. These IDF soldiers r trained merciless animals. Theyll get away with it anyway and even be named a victim as they were hailed in the recent past by the deceased family. (Sick)
The “Jewish” Medina. No semblance of anything Jewish. Kill. Kill kill.
Nauseating.
I don’t know all the reasons why the Rabbannut will not be megayer Palestinian’s but it would make a lot of sense that they are concerned 1) the geirus is for ulterior motives and 2) it can be a security concern.
Being that any sincere Palestinian could go to R’ Nissim’s beis din, in which case he would have the halachic status of a ger without the side-benefits, both issues are resolved, but of course it is a huge challenge for the ger, and he is certainly well aware of it before he converts. If he is sure that he wants this mesirus nefesh – then Kol Hakavod! Being a ger is difficult at the best of times. It has many challenging issues, and noone is being forced, or even encouraged to convert to Orthodox Judaism.
Can we start using the expression HY”D for Jews killed by the zionist military (as in the 3 hostages shot in cold blood in Gaza, or the Jews killed by zionist tank and helicopter fire on Oct.7)?
I should clarify that I don’t mean to beat up on the individual soldier who mistakenly fired the shot, I am sure he is beside himself with guilt. I am referring to the zionist leadership which has brazenly decided to pasken dinei nefashos not just for individuals, but for all the Jews in Eretz Yisrael and around the world. That has decided there is an acceptable level of “collateral loss” of Jewish life. That has twisted Toras Emes to justify this madness.
I’ve heard one commentator opine that the IDF could have bombed Gaza, killed 10000-20000 people and enough, with the threat of more to come for any futher Hamas attacks. This would have restored deterrence without playing into Hamas hands.
What if the whole Gaza israel war is a wake up call for the simple fact the Jewish religious world did not accept this convert as a regular jew. What if his death-which is tragic- is the evidence that we must look at and ask the real question how did we get here???
This is not the zionist. This is not the army. This is not the chiloni or the chassid.
This is a problem that plagues all levels of judaism and is a deoraita that is repeated dozens of times in the torah.
Love the convert. Care for the concert. Accept the convert.
Let dovid ben Abraham be a wakeup call about how we treat geirim.
I’m being moche fir the kivod of the Yidden living in Eretz Yisroel.
It us so sad to read such derogatory comments about other Yidden, written with such vitriol. Are you going to then lain the words lech kneiss kol hayehudim with a calm heart? Do you think Hashem hates some of His children as much as you do?
I’m being moche for the kivod of the Yidden living in Eretz Yisroel. It is so sad to read such derogatory comments about other Yidden, written with such vitriol. Are you going to then lain the words lech kneiss kol hayehudim with a calm heart? Do you think Hashem hates some of His children as much as you do?
If it were Rabbi Kareltz Beis Din, it’s daas torah, but why defend the Kefirah Malchus Harishah?
Don’t we know that they are ONE big problem? Vehavtem es Hageir is it the torah and they don’t follow torah. Simple…
You’re showing your hate; that’s all. You have no real answer for this… And yes, you sating that we are Golus Jews and you not, shows your level of Kefirah…
Moshiach is not here yet and Zionism is against torah NOT only to NK. Get it in your head that you’re in the worng. You most likely defend ANY action the IDF or the Kefirah Government does; especially if it’s anti Haredi
Same happened when there was a terror attack at the entrance to Jerusalem. An off duty soldier was fatally shot by another extremist soldier, who wanted to be a hero and shoot whom he thought was a Palestinian. The poisonous culture in Israel calls for jews to quickly execute terrorists or suspects. The world watches and it makes a bad name for the Jewish nation. Unfortunately.
Absolutely sick!! Jail the reservist NOW!
FYI I support the army’s actions in Gaza as they are necessary to get rid of terrorists.
However you cannot look away from the fact that in the west bank settler meshugayim and wackos who are descendants of American BT’s who had no mesorah and no rebbi, are STEALING arabs’ houses and getting away with it. In Sheik Jarrah some lunatic from Long Island stole an Arabs house and got away with it. These wackos need to be stopped.
Time to jail the reservist!
The current situation in Israel is messed up. Geopolitically there is no solution that will work. We need MOSHIACH NOW!
This story makes me nauseous. Why was this man who as just as Jewish as all of us on this forum, not allowed to live in Israel? The so called “Jewish” state will let a russian goy with a Jewish grandfather live in Israel as a citizen, why not this man?! He is 100% jewish and since rav Karelitz ZTL converted him I assume he lived a religious life. How could some nasty mechalel Shabbos judge decide he is not Jewish enough to live in the so called “Jewish” state?! Absolutely disgusting…
ccb45 and whoever else..
If you chose to live in the comforts of the goldene medina then you have no right to an opinion about anything that happens in Eretz Hakodesh. You have chosen to not be a part of the conversation because other things are more important to you than dwelling in the kedusha of EY. I don’t hate any Jew period including one that serves in the IDF…so what you are saying is a bunch of nonsense. I was so so sad about this tragedy and suffering of this poor yid and I know that the system is far far from perfect. What I object to is using this as another excuse to trash soldiers and the army made up of very young people in a very tense situation where BH these mistakes are still rare.. And yes I am defending soldiers because they are risking their lives for us! They are willing to die and let yidden in EY be able to live a REAL jewish life. Its ridiculous for anyone to assume that these soldiers are “zionists”. I am extremely sick and tired of some people just waiting to pounce on anything anyone does in our holy land and hiding behind their objection to “zionism” and their dislike of powers that be. What does zionism have to do with anything? You are trashing people who do have the courage and love for EY and are willing to be meiser nefesh to be here. You are not here and you have no idea what is going on at all.. …Stop listening to modern day miraglim with long beards spitting on the mitzvah of yishuv EY and stop speaking disparagingly about the beautiful people who live here even the ones that are bli kipa.. halevai you should reach their level of emunah… The conversation about zionism is honestly a bit laughable because there are so many more things at play and so much influence from outside.. why dont you concentrate on your own backyard..zionism is the least of our problems..do you really think the powers that be are so idealistic? really? instead of worrying so much about zionism, if I were you i would put my own house in order and start making plans to get away from the antisemites of Edom ….that is destined to collapse anyway…
Seems like the comments section here was overrun by pro Hamas, like Neturei Karta.
That’s sick.
Duvyy, yes.. the sad thing that happens to some sensitive yidden who live in the sewer of us of a. They are damaged by the tumah and can not withstand it …They lose their jewish heart and sensitivities. it is very sad and sick.
leah2330
Wow, tumah in USA. Hm. Israel has learned tumah from the west and perfected it to accept the “democratic” values of anarchy against Torah and “morals”.
Sinning in the palace of G-d (Eretz Yisroel; not Israel), is a much bigger sin. Do teshuva please
כ”כ עצוב. .
His paradise is so great that we can’t even grasp to understand..
ב.ד.ה.
This tzadik was killed amidst a battle to save Jews.
We are not falling for their lies anymore. The so called “Jewish” state is going to have to listen to our government (US) and stop killing innocent people in the West Bank whether they are Jews or not. They have gone too far. This soldier needs to be in jail for life. He saw a knife in the guy’s bag and opened fire?! That’s murder!
HNY, you mentioned that “Muslim palestinians” are gerei toshav. Tell me, what are the halachic requirements to be a ger toshav, and how do “Muslim palestinians” meet those requirements?