Netanel Ozeri, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in his hilltop home on Friday night, was finally laid to rest at the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hevron at 3:00 this morning. Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi Dov Lior ruled early yesterday afternoon that Netanel should be buried there. The burial was delayed for some 12 hours, however, when what the rabbi called "a small group of outside elements" grabbed the body with the goal of burying it near the deceased's hilltop residence. Ozeri, his wife, and five children had moved to the site two years ago with the goal of reclaiming another area for the Jewish nation. It was not listed as one of the "illegal outposts."
Rabbi Lior told Arutz-7 last night, while Ozeri had still not been buried, that he could not be laid to rest on the hilltop "merely because he lived and died there," and that the fair compromise would be to bury him in the ancient Jewish cemetery in the holy city of Hevron. The cemetery is located a short walk away from Machpelah Cave, where the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish nation are buried.
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was quoted repeatedly in the Israeli media as calling the drawn-out funeral procession a "disgrace for the dead." Rabbi Lior added that it was a "disgrace not only of the dead, but also of the living." Rabbi Elchanan Bin-Nun of Shilo told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson that though those involved may have had good intentions,
"we judge the deeds and the results, not the intentions." He said, however, that their actions could be based on the "terrible pressures the residents face, the dangers under which they and the country live, and the feeling that the Prime Minister is simply not doing all that he can to stop it… They should not take out this fury on the police or on the army… [On the other hand,] those who do not protest have either given up, or simply do not care enough - and then we have a 'spiritual claim' against them as well…"
Rabbi Lior told Arutz-7 last night, while Ozeri had still not been buried, that he could not be laid to rest on the hilltop "merely because he lived and died there," and that the fair compromise would be to bury him in the ancient Jewish cemetery in the holy city of Hevron. The cemetery is located a short walk away from Machpelah Cave, where the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish nation are buried.
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was quoted repeatedly in the Israeli media as calling the drawn-out funeral procession a "disgrace for the dead." Rabbi Lior added that it was a "disgrace not only of the dead, but also of the living." Rabbi Elchanan Bin-Nun of Shilo told Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson that though those involved may have had good intentions,
"we judge the deeds and the results, not the intentions." He said, however, that their actions could be based on the "terrible pressures the residents face, the dangers under which they and the country live, and the feeling that the Prime Minister is simply not doing all that he can to stop it… They should not take out this fury on the police or on the army… [On the other hand,] those who do not protest have either given up, or simply do not care enough - and then we have a 'spiritual claim' against them as well…"