Bank Hapoalim spokeswoman Sharona Mazlian took to Twitter to share her meeting with Major Ariel Almog, who stopped a suicide bombing two decades ago.
"One of the reasons I love going out to the reserve so much is that sometimes I get to meet new and fascinating people," she wrote, "But even so, I did not imagine that I would meet this man, who saved 62 Israelis on his bus from a terrorist with a suicide vest by physically assailing the terrorist. He neutralized the terrorist with only his own body and was later given an award for it."
Sharona starts her story by telling of an army officer driving through the Jordan Valley. "On Thursday, August 9, 2001, Major Ariel Almog was on his way to Jenin on Route 90 in his military vehicle, wearing his armor as required by the IDF's regulations at the time. He stopped in front of a bus laden with passengers and noticed a man dressed as a soldier wearing a black coat and attempting to enter the bus with a large bag."
"The sight of a coat at the height of August in the Jordan Valley made Ariel suspicious" Sharona continues. "He exited his vehicle and called for the soldier to stop. The "soldier" ignored him multiple times, prompting Ariel to draw his handgun and run onto the bus himself, dragging the man to the floor."
Sharona tells that while lying atop the man, Ariel felt something hard through his coat and quickly realized it was a suicide vest. When the man wouldn't answer him in Hebrew, Ariel began to attempt to question him in Arabic. As he did, he noticed the dog tag chain that the soldier had been wearing had fallen off to reveal the remote detonator for the explosive vest.
"Ariel managed to get the man to admit that he had arrived at the bus in a stolen tractor from the Hizme roadblock and shouted to other soldiers around to pass the information on. The man managed to work one hand free and reached for the detonator again, prompting Ariel to neutralize him for good," Sharona finishes.
Ariel was discharged from the IDF in 2012. He later developed and established a plant for the production of air filter systems for bomb shelters and other businesses in the field of tourism and nursing homes. In 2005, he initiated a program that integrates young people with special needs in the IDF as volunteers. In addition, he established hostels for people with special needs in Ness Ziona and Lod and won the President's Award in 2017.
"By the way," she adds, "Ariel is also the father of Elon Almog from Maccabi Tel Aviv."