The murder of Netanel [Nati] Ozeri in his home while enjoying his Sabbath meal with his family on Friday night is a many-faceted tragedy, which has still not ended as we go to press.
Kiryat Arba Mayor Tzvi Katzover told Arutz-7 today what happened in the course of the terrorist attack as the Ozeri family, including five children, and their two guests, were concluding their meal on Hilltop 26 outside Kiryat Arba:
"The terrorist knocked on the door and called out with a French accent, leading everyone in the house to think that it was the security coordinator of Kiryat Arba [who hails from France]. Despite this, Nati was suspicious; he told his two guests to get their guns ready, and he himself drew his gun as he went to the door - but the French accent apparently fooled him, and he opened the door without asking again who it was. The terrorists shot and killed him on the spot..."
Medic Uri Karzen of Hevron, who was alerted to the incident - his fourth such Friday night call in the past six weeks - told Arutz-7's Eli Stutz that at this point, the two guests showed incredible bravery:
"The mother took her five children into a side room, while one of the two guests - they had come around from the back - jumped on the two terrorists. One of the terrorists was holding an M-16 rifle, and the other was holding a pistol and an axe. Yechezkel [one of the guests] managed to pin down one terrorist, whom was shot and killed by the other guest, Elchanan. The second terrorist fired off a few shots, then ran and hid behind a car, and Elchanan fired through the car, and apparently wounded the terrorist, but he ran away. Yechezkel took three bullets in his leg..." Security forces later found and killed the second terrorist.
The terrorists' victim, Nati Ozeri, was a leader in the Hevron community in terms of both settlement and Torah study/teaching. A teacher at the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea in Jerusalem, he moved out of Kiryat Arba a number of years ago to settle the hills around the city. His close friend, Noam Federman, said Netanel was "a courageous man, a hero, a person who knew literature and how to write… He was an interesting and unusual combination, the type of person who stood out as a leader. He was a man of Torah and a man of action." Federman noted that Netanel not only established new settlement outposts and interested youths in settling there, he also made sure to teach them Torah in a regular schedule. He is survived by his wife Livnat and five children, ranging in age from 1.5 to 11.
Netanel recently spent four months in jail after being arrested during the funeral of his friend, Elazar Leibowitz, who was murdered in the Hevron area last July by Arab terrorists. The police said that Netanel struck an officer at the funeral, while friends said he tried to help a child who was hit by an officer. Knesset candidate Baruch Marzel said that Ozeri "was one of the senior students of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. He was... a giant of Torah who knew the Bible and its commentaries. Aside from that, he was a great educator. He was a Jew who gave his life in order to settle the hills. Recently, he was also active in the Herut party election campaign."
Nati was to have been buried today in Hevron, but the funeral was twice delayed. It was held up first by an order issued by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky banning Baruch Marzel and Noam Federman from taking part in the funeral. Kaplinsky explained his ban as based on "concern for public safety." The Jerusalem Magistrates Court later overturned the order regarding Marzel, in light of the strong request by the grieving family, and the funeral finally set out to the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hevron.
The funeral was again held up when a dispute broke out over where exactly to bury the deceased. Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba ruled that he be buried in Hevron, while Nati's aging parents asked that he be laid to rest in Jerusalem, and friends and some family members insisted that the burial be near his home on the hilltop. This last option was ruled out by military authorities, and Nati's wife Livnat intends to protest this decision in Jerusalem.
Kiryat Arba Mayor Tzvi Katzover told Arutz-7 today what happened in the course of the terrorist attack as the Ozeri family, including five children, and their two guests, were concluding their meal on Hilltop 26 outside Kiryat Arba:
"The terrorist knocked on the door and called out with a French accent, leading everyone in the house to think that it was the security coordinator of Kiryat Arba [who hails from France]. Despite this, Nati was suspicious; he told his two guests to get their guns ready, and he himself drew his gun as he went to the door - but the French accent apparently fooled him, and he opened the door without asking again who it was. The terrorists shot and killed him on the spot..."
Medic Uri Karzen of Hevron, who was alerted to the incident - his fourth such Friday night call in the past six weeks - told Arutz-7's Eli Stutz that at this point, the two guests showed incredible bravery:
"The mother took her five children into a side room, while one of the two guests - they had come around from the back - jumped on the two terrorists. One of the terrorists was holding an M-16 rifle, and the other was holding a pistol and an axe. Yechezkel [one of the guests] managed to pin down one terrorist, whom was shot and killed by the other guest, Elchanan. The second terrorist fired off a few shots, then ran and hid behind a car, and Elchanan fired through the car, and apparently wounded the terrorist, but he ran away. Yechezkel took three bullets in his leg..." Security forces later found and killed the second terrorist.
The terrorists' victim, Nati Ozeri, was a leader in the Hevron community in terms of both settlement and Torah study/teaching. A teacher at the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea in Jerusalem, he moved out of Kiryat Arba a number of years ago to settle the hills around the city. His close friend, Noam Federman, said Netanel was "a courageous man, a hero, a person who knew literature and how to write… He was an interesting and unusual combination, the type of person who stood out as a leader. He was a man of Torah and a man of action." Federman noted that Netanel not only established new settlement outposts and interested youths in settling there, he also made sure to teach them Torah in a regular schedule. He is survived by his wife Livnat and five children, ranging in age from 1.5 to 11.
Netanel recently spent four months in jail after being arrested during the funeral of his friend, Elazar Leibowitz, who was murdered in the Hevron area last July by Arab terrorists. The police said that Netanel struck an officer at the funeral, while friends said he tried to help a child who was hit by an officer. Knesset candidate Baruch Marzel said that Ozeri "was one of the senior students of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. He was... a giant of Torah who knew the Bible and its commentaries. Aside from that, he was a great educator. He was a Jew who gave his life in order to settle the hills. Recently, he was also active in the Herut party election campaign."
Nati was to have been buried today in Hevron, but the funeral was twice delayed. It was held up first by an order issued by OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky banning Baruch Marzel and Noam Federman from taking part in the funeral. Kaplinsky explained his ban as based on "concern for public safety." The Jerusalem Magistrates Court later overturned the order regarding Marzel, in light of the strong request by the grieving family, and the funeral finally set out to the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hevron.
The funeral was again held up when a dispute broke out over where exactly to bury the deceased. Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba ruled that he be buried in Hevron, while Nati's aging parents asked that he be laid to rest in Jerusalem, and friends and some family members insisted that the burial be near his home on the hilltop. This last option was ruled out by military authorities, and Nati's wife Livnat intends to protest this decision in Jerusalem.