Yehuda Kandel, who lost his daughter Yael and son-in-law Eyal in a murderous terrorist attack in their southern Gush Etzion community of Karmei Tzur two days ago, spoke with Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal today. Explaining their choice of living quarters, Kandel said,
\"They always looked for a rural area that they could help turn into a community, so that they could help the People of Israel, and at the same time live next to a place of Torah. They looked in several places; they started out in Bat Ayin, then they moved to Karmei Tzur, and then moved to the new neighborhood there, Tzur Shalem - named for Dr. Shmuel Gillis, who was also murdered by terrorists...\"
Yael was studying to be a teacher of math and Torah, and the couple was married \"a year and four and a half months ago.\" Their first child was due to be born within days, and Eyal was five days away from completing the extra period of combat army service for which he signed up. Yael\'s father heard the tragic news early Shabbat morning, but kept it from his family until the Sabbath had ended:
\"I was in the synagogue when I was told that policemen were looking for me. I realized pretty quickly what they had come for, because it was clear that a police officer wouldn\'t be looking for me just to share a cup of coffee. I just wasn\'t sure if the bad news was coming from Karmei Tzur or from Hevron, where I have a son learning in yeshiva... When they told me what had happened, I asked them not to come into the house, and to come back after Shabbat.\"
\"How were you able to keep it inside you and not tell anyone?\" Segal asked. \"Wasn\'t it terribly difficult?\"
\"Yes, it was difficult,\" Yehuda said slowly, \"but - Shabbat is also important.\"
Yehuda was awarded a medal for his bravery during the Ammunition Hill battle in Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Explaining why he led the mourners at the funeral in singing, \"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,\" Yehuda Kandel said, \"It seemed very appropriate for the way they lived their lives, and for our way of life, and also gives a good idea as to how to win this war.\"
\"They always looked for a rural area that they could help turn into a community, so that they could help the People of Israel, and at the same time live next to a place of Torah. They looked in several places; they started out in Bat Ayin, then they moved to Karmei Tzur, and then moved to the new neighborhood there, Tzur Shalem - named for Dr. Shmuel Gillis, who was also murdered by terrorists...\"
Yael was studying to be a teacher of math and Torah, and the couple was married \"a year and four and a half months ago.\" Their first child was due to be born within days, and Eyal was five days away from completing the extra period of combat army service for which he signed up. Yael\'s father heard the tragic news early Shabbat morning, but kept it from his family until the Sabbath had ended:
\"I was in the synagogue when I was told that policemen were looking for me. I realized pretty quickly what they had come for, because it was clear that a police officer wouldn\'t be looking for me just to share a cup of coffee. I just wasn\'t sure if the bad news was coming from Karmei Tzur or from Hevron, where I have a son learning in yeshiva... When they told me what had happened, I asked them not to come into the house, and to come back after Shabbat.\"
\"How were you able to keep it inside you and not tell anyone?\" Segal asked. \"Wasn\'t it terribly difficult?\"
\"Yes, it was difficult,\" Yehuda said slowly, \"but - Shabbat is also important.\"
Yehuda was awarded a medal for his bravery during the Ammunition Hill battle in Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Explaining why he led the mourners at the funeral in singing, \"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,\" Yehuda Kandel said, \"It seemed very appropriate for the way they lived their lives, and for our way of life, and also gives a good idea as to how to win this war.\"