At a moving ceremony at the police recruitment office in Bat Yam, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai swore in a new police officer – Geula Malka, the mother of Sergeant Hadas Malka, a Border Police officer who was killed while responding to a serious terrorist attack at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem in 2017.
In that attack, three terrorists armed with knives and guns attempted to carry out an attack on Border Police who were stationed near Zedekiah’s Cave in the Old City. The police officers spotted the terrorists and managed to neutralize two of them, but the third terrorist escaped and fled in the direction of the Damascus Gate. There he attacked Hadas Malka, stabbing her with a knife. Hadas was evacuated to hospital in critical condition, where doctors were forced to determine her death.
Four years after the attack, Hadas’ mother Geula has become a police officer herself, after completing the legal studies necessary to take up a position in the police prosecution service. After swearing her in, Commissioner Shabtai presented Malka with her official police certificate.
“This is the most emotional event I have ever attended during my service in the police force,” said Shabtai, addressing Geula Malka. “I feel very privileged to be standing here at your side and swearing you into the police force, four years after you lost your daughter, Hadas, a brave Border Police officer who became a symbol of love for the Land and determination to protect it. This is a closing of the circle for your family and also for me personally and for the entire organization, and I am very proud to see you here now, joining the police force. I am confident that you will excel in your new role and I wish you all success.”
Responding to Shabtai’s words, Malka said, “I have always been learning – it’s part of my daily routine and way of life, to aspire to do something more. And recently, my legal studies were a lifeline and a way to survive the worst event of all. They have also enabled me to close the circle and join the ranks of an organization that is so dear to our family as it was to my daughter, Hadas Malka, as an intern in the Southern District claims unit.”