Yitzchak and Talia imes
Yitzchak and Talia imesEmanuel Maimon

Ten weeks ago, Yitzchak and Talia Imes of Beit Haggai were murdered by terrorists as they drove along a highway near their home. On Thursday Ariel, one of the six children they left behind, ascended to the Temple Mount along with 60 students from the 11th grade of the yeshiva high school in Susia.

Sixteen-year-old Ariel spoke to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew-language news service about the Temple Mount visit, and the siblings' wish to keep their parents' dreams alive. Ariel, who learns in the Susia high school, said, “My father always wanted the yeshiva to go up to the Temple Mount, he really wanted youth to develop that connection with the Temple Mount. Today we fulfilled his dream.”

Ultimately, he said, he hopes the family can build a new Jewish community in the land of Israel named after Yitzchak and Talia. “That would be the most fitting way to commemorate them,” he said.

He explained the urge to keep working toward his parents' goals, saying, “Life teaches us that we have to keep moving forward, the circumstances that my parents were killed in obligate us to continue. Those who killed them wanted to put an end to our lives here, it's our obligation to keep going.”

The town of Beit Haggai, where the orphans still live, has been very supportive, Ariel said. The family has received support from as far away as the United States and Australia.

However, he said, “Losing one's parents is something that can't be made easier.” Every member of the family is dealing with the loss in a different way, he added.

Recently, the children marked their mother Talia's birthday in her absence. “We read things she wrote, we looked at pictures, even though she wasn't there to celebrate with us,” he said. Talia was 45 when she was murdered; she was also in her ninth month of pregnancy.

One month ago IDF soldiers killed two Hamas terrorists responsible for the murders of Yitzchak and Talia Imes and their two passengers, Kochava Even-Chaim and Avishai Shindler. The army called the Imes family shortly after the operation and informed them of what had happened, Ariel said. “I thanked them, it felt good knowing that those terrorists would not murder more Jews, but that won't bring my parents back.”

Video and pictures - Ascent to Temple Mount in Memory of Yitzchak and Talia Imes: