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Photo: Gil Yohanan

Jerusalem stabbing victim’s son: He was the salt of the earth

Avraham Ozeri's son says, 'even animals don’t kill old animals. What reason is there to kill an 86-year-old person? What can you gain from this?' Neighbor: He had a heart of gold

“They loved him everywhere; an unconditional love. He never did anything bad to anyone, he always wanted to help,” said the enraged son of Avraham Ozeri, who was killed in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood on Thursday.

 

Ozeri was widowed 10 years ago and survived by two children, a son and a daughter and six grandchildren.

 

The son, Amos Oz (no relation to the famous author), managed to see his father on the morning of the horrible day.

 

With tears running down his face, Oz said, “I was with him in the morning, he asked me to take him to the doctor’s office and then he would go to his girlfriend’s house.

 

“I drove him and went to work. He finished his errands and was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Dad just passed by the place where the terrorist fled from the police.

 

“The terrorist decided to kill him with two thrusts of the knife; once in the shoulder and once in the back,” said the saddened son.

 


Avraham Ozeri and his grandaughter

 

Ozeri was critically injured and later died at the hospital. A Border Guard officer who was also stabbed during the attack, Daniel Motza (32) was moderately injured.

 

Muhammad al-Badan, the 21-year-old terrorist from the West Bank village of Tekoa, was moderately injured as well. He was caught twice in the past in Jerusalem as an illegal worker. He is also known to the police from riots conducted outside of Jerusalem.

 

“The police looked for me and asked to meet me face-to-face,” said Amos. “I was late and on my way to meet the police when someone told me that an 86-year-old was injured in a terror attack. I became suspicious and called his girlfriend who innocently thought he was sleeping, since she heard him enter in the morning and did not hear him leave.

 

“When I arrived at the Talpiyot police station, the chief of investigations didn’t have to say much. I want to note the sensitivity and patience exhibited by the police,” said the son.

 

The son continued to describe his deceased father and said, “He was the salt of the earth, a person that whenever spoken of, a connection was somehow made to love of country.

 

“That was his main motto in life and for that reason I was shaken that this happened to him. He said that ‘the Arabs will live there and we will live here'," Oz said. 

 

Amos also spoke of the fact that his father was an athlete his entire life. “There wasn’t a marathon in which he didn’t participate; he was the oldest runner. All the sports organizers knew and saluted him. In his youth he was in the Lechi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel).”

 

Oz commented on the cruelty exhibited by the terrorist and said, “An 86-year-old man…even animals don’t kill old animals. What reason is there to kill an 86-year-old person? What will you gain from this?

 

“He could be your great-grandfather. Animals is not the word; animals have respect for other animals,” he said.

 

'He always helped'

Although they were not close, his neighbor Pnina Baldav said that Avraham was a major figure in her family’s life. “He was a simple and wonderful person. Each morning he went to the cultural center where he volunteered. I understood that everyone has been crying there for the entire day.”

 

Baldav added that “We have been living near each other for 23 years. Despite his age, he always helped carry our bags up the stairs and would always come quickly if we asked for anything else.

 

“Actually, we didn’t even need to ask, he would just come. Just last week, he left a note asking why we don’t water our plants. He didn’t want them to dry out. My heart hurts, he was a wonderful person,” said the neighbor.

 

Rachel Tzadok, who was Avraham’s neighbor for 27 years said, “Our acquaintanceship was very long. After his wife died 10 years ago, my husband helped him and saw him often.”

 

Tzadok also described Ozeri’s personality and said, “He had a heart of gold; he helped anyone who needed it.”

 

“Avraham worked at the Jewish Agency for years and upon his retirement, went to volunteer at the cultural center until last year.. He didn’t want to sit at home, poor soul.

 

"Only words of kindness can be said about this person. It is simply unfortunate that he is gone and it is unfortunate that he went in such a way,” added the neighbor.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.23.08, 22:06
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