Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, the head of Merkaz HaRav Kook Yeshiva, eulogized the slain students Friday, saying that "it is about time we have a good, worthy leadership."

He added: "The Torah says: 'and you shall not defile the land' . It also says 'The Lord is a Lord of revenge,' but there is also revenge by human beings, and there is revenge of the land – 'Though I have acquitted them, those who shed their blood I have not acquitted.' [from the last verse in the Book of Joel – ed.]."

"The Land of Israel is not abandoned, and people must stop playing with it and dividing it," Rabbi Shapira said.