Rabbi Elimelech Shapira, 43, head of the Yeshivat Hesder and pre-military academy in the Shomron community of Peduel, was murdered early this morning by terrorist gunfire at his car. His friend, Elitzur Lilintal, with whom he often traveled to an early-morning Torah class in Bnei Brak, was wounded by gunfire to his legs. Lilintal was operated on this morning and is listed in moderate condition. \"I was awoken by the sound of gunshots and Rav Shapira falling on me,\" he told Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson today. \"I grabbed the wheel in order to speed out of there, with Rav Shapira\'s leg still on the gas pedal... It was pretty clear that he was not alive.\" Emergency workers who arrived on the scene were themselves attacked by gunfire, but continued administering medical treatment until IDF soldiers arrived on the scene. The terrorists were tracked to the nearby Arab village of Burkin.
The funeral of Rabbi Shapira, who is survived by his wife and eight children, began this afternoon in his Yeshivat \"Eretz HaTzvi\" in Peduel, where colleagues and family members eulogized him. He will be buried in the Segulah Cemetery in Petach Tikvah. Yonah Goodman of Peduel told Arutz-7 today that his neighbor Rabbi Shapira realized that in order to educate, he could not stop studying himself, and that his trips to Bnei Brak were for this purpose: \"He had the special ability to communicate with youth who stood at the crossroads, who were not quite sure of their future… He fulfilled his dream of establishing an institute for these youths, and for others… He was very beloved for his quiet nature, his special personality, for his unique musical abilities, and much more.\"
Goodman said that the road on which the fatal attack occurred has been quiet for the last several months, \"although before that we used to have many attacks, including shootings, firebombs, and even stone blocks hurled onto our cars.\"
The funeral of Rabbi Shapira, who is survived by his wife and eight children, began this afternoon in his Yeshivat \"Eretz HaTzvi\" in Peduel, where colleagues and family members eulogized him. He will be buried in the Segulah Cemetery in Petach Tikvah. Yonah Goodman of Peduel told Arutz-7 today that his neighbor Rabbi Shapira realized that in order to educate, he could not stop studying himself, and that his trips to Bnei Brak were for this purpose: \"He had the special ability to communicate with youth who stood at the crossroads, who were not quite sure of their future… He fulfilled his dream of establishing an institute for these youths, and for others… He was very beloved for his quiet nature, his special personality, for his unique musical abilities, and much more.\"
Goodman said that the road on which the fatal attack occurred has been quiet for the last several months, \"although before that we used to have many attacks, including shootings, firebombs, and even stone blocks hurled onto our cars.\"