Elad Barzilai
Elad Barzilaino credit

Elad Barzilai, a resident of Acre who was seriously injured in an attempted lynching carried out by Arab rioters last week, underwent a complex surgical operation today (Wednesday) at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

The operation, which lasted about eight hours, was crowned a success and at the end the wounded man was returned to the neurosurgical intensive care unit, where he is hospitalized.

His's condition is still defined as serious but stable. He is anesthetized and on an assisted breathing machine and will require another surgery.

His family asks for the public to pray for the recovery of Elad Ben Julia.

Barzilai is married with four children and a teacher in a local high school that belongs to the Amit network of schools which provide a “Jewish values-based education,” according to their website.

Immediately prior to the attack in which he almost lost his life, Barzilai had gone out on the street in search of his students, in order to prevent them from joining in the violence that was already raging. A gang of Arabs pounced on him and attacked him viciously, pounding him with rocks and metal rods.

The Amit organization issued a statement following the attack: “Elad, an exemplary teacher, wanted to protect his students on that terrible night in his city, and fell victim to a horrific attempted lynch at the hands of rioting Arabs. We demand that the police stop these rioters who tried to kill him. As soon as we learned of the attack, Elad’s own students along with other students from the Amit high school in Akko were given counseling and support by our teachers and our staff of counselors, to help them to process the terrible news and deal with it.”