11-year-old Yoav Fogel, murder victim
11-year-old Yoav Fogel, murder victimIsrael news photo: courtesy of Fogel family,

First responders who rushed into the blood-drenched bedroom of 11-year-old Yoav Fogel last Friday night were confronted with a sight that nearly stopped them in their tracks.

A colorful little wooden plaque hung above the slain young boy's bed, proclaiming his love for his people and a prayer for peace between all.

 

 

The prayer above Yoav's bed, written originally in Hebrew, reads as follows (in English):

May it be Your will, L-rd G-d and G-d of our forefathers,

That I love every one of Israel as myself, and

To graciously perform the positive commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself.

 And may it also be Your will, Lord G-d and G-d of my forefathers,

That you cause the hearts of my friends and neighbors to love me fervently, and

That I be accepted and desirable to everyone, and

That I be loving and pleasant, and

That I be gracious and merciful in the eyes of all who see me. 

As water reflects face to face, so the heart of man is to man.

And all for the sake of Heaven, to do Your will,

Amen

Along with his 4-year-old brother Elad and his new little baby sister, 3-month-old Hadas, Yoav and his father were stabbed to death by terrorists who murdered them brutally as they slept and then killed his mother as she entered the bedroom.

Miraculously, two of his brothers survived, unnoticed by the terrorists in their rush to slaughter the family. Eight-year-old Ro'i and 2-year-old Shai were both sleeping at the time.

 

 

Yoav's 12-year-old sister Tamar was not home at the time, returning about an hour after the terrorists left to find her family slaughtered.  

(Israel news photos: courtesy of Fogel Family / Shomron-Samaria Regional Council)