September 03, 2010
Submitted by Jana Falic, WIZO USA President: Let’s pray for the widows and orphans of Israel
On Tuesday, August 31, Yitzchak Ames (47) and his wife Talya Ames (45) were driving home from Jerusalem to Beit Hagai, south of Hevron. Yitzchak picked Talya up from her new job as an accountant in Beitar, and continued on to Efrat. There, they picked up Kochava Even-Haim (37), who had spent the afternoon getting her special needs students ready for their first day of kindergarten the next morning. They also picked up Avishai Shindler (24), a newlywed Hesder student on his way home to his young wife, Moriah.When they were close to home, another car pulled out alongside them, and the occupants opened fire with machine guns on their car. Once the car had stopped, the gunmen approached on foot and shot each of the victims again, at point blank range, to make sure they were dead.Yitzchak and Talya Ames leave behind six orphaned children, the youngest of whom is only 4.5 years old. Talya was also nine months pregnant with her seventh child. The family immigrated from Russia 14 years ago and joined the Beit Hagai community. They faced serious financial problems over the years, and the children are left with almost nothing. Their only close relative is an elderly grandmother who still lives in Russia.
Kochava Even-Haim leaves behind her husband Momi - an emergency volunteer who was the first to discover his wife's body at the scene - and an 11-year-old daughter named Odaya, a "miracle baby" who was born after years of unsuccessful attempts to have a child.Avishai Shindler had been married to Moriah for barely a year. Moriah works as a group counselor for troubled youth in Beit Chagai, and is now a 20-year-old widow.The next evening, terrorists opened fire on another Israeli car, this time north of Jerusalem. The gunfire hit the driver, a 30-year-old man, in the knee. He lost control of his car, which swerved down an embankment and hit a rock. His wife, who was also in the car, was hurt in the collision. The couple fled the car, fearing that the terrorists would return to complete the attack, as they had the night before. But this time, the terrorists fled the scene. The injured couple were taken to hospital, and both are in stable condition. Residents of the nearby communities barricaded themselves while students in a nearby yeshiva spent the night hiding under their beds, afraid that the terrorists were hiding on the yeshiva grounds and would attack the yeshiva next.As Rosh Hashana approaches, we are enjoined to emulate G-d by helping the widows and orphans of Israel.
* This blog was submitted by Jana Falic, WIZO USA President