Eddie (Avraham) Dribben, a member of the Jewish community in Hevron, known as the “Sheriff of Hevron”, and bereaved father of Dov Dribben, passed away Thursday at the age of 85.
Born in the United States, made Aliyah in his 20s, moving to the Negev, where he worked as a farm watchman.
In the early 1990s, Dribben moved his family to Hevron.
Dribben’s son, Dov, was murdered by terrorists in 1998 as he and two friends attempted to drive off Arab shepherds and their flock, which had trespassed on their land, next to the town of Maon, south of Hevron.
The trespassing, however, was a ruse, and Dov and his friends stepped into a trap laid for them by a gang of Arab terrorists.
The terrorists opened fire on the three, killing Dov and wounding his companions.
Kiryat Arba Council Chief Malachi Levinger praised Eddie Dribben in a written statement Thursday morning, calling him a “man of great devotion”.
“This morning Eddie Dribben, one of the early settlers of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, passed away. He was a man of great devotion, who poured life into the industry of the city of our forefathers, even in the face of daily harassment, and continued his work even after his son Dov Dribben’s murder nearly 20 years ago.”