President-elect Rivlin slams those inciting to violence against Arabs
Public figures visit bereaved parents of Gil-Ad Shaer in Talmon; President-elect refers during meeting to violence against Arabs: ‘It is not enough to be disgusted, you must say enough.’
A host of politicians and public figures arrived on Thursday to Talmon to pay their respects to Bat-Galim and Ofir Shaer, parents of Gil-Ad Shaer, one of the three Israeli Jewish teens who was abducted and murdered in the West Bank three weeks ago.
Israel's President-elect Reuven Rivlin, who was among those who visited the grieving family, slammed calls for revenge made in recent days against Palestinians and Arabs.
Other political leaders who paid their respect to the family included Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, MK Erel Margalit (Labor), and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon.
At the end of his meeting with the parents, Ya’alon wrote on his Twitter account: “I met parents that are of extraordinary strength, that embody everything that is good and noble in man. During the visit, I shared with the parents information that we know of so far about the murder investigation.”
During Rivlin’s visit to the parents, he urged those disgusted by calls for violence against Arabs to stand up, and said "it is not enough to be disgusted, you must say enough."
Rivlin added: “There is a deterioration in the ongoing tragedy here in Israel. I think that we could lose control and we must return to our senses.
"The public in Israel did not long for the Land of Israel for 2,000 years because it hated someone. We loved Israel without having to define our love by our hatred of the other. We must not degenerate into conflict between tribes. We are a state, not a tribe.”
When asked about the murder of Mohammad Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, Rivlin stressed that it is still unclear whether the crime is nationalistic, but added: “Murder is murder, whether the killer is a Jew or a Muslim and the victim is a Jew or an Arab. These things need to be said clearly in an organized society.
"Shouts such as 'Death to Arabs' because they’re Arabs shock me no less than shouts such as “Death to Jews” that shocked our ancestors. ‘Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.’"
Hadas Mizrahi, widow of Police Commander Baruch Mizrahi, who was killed in a Passover eve terror attack near Hebron, also visited the bereaved parents in Talmon. “I feel a sense of partnership with the parents,” she said.
“I visited the Yifrach family beforehand and I’m on my way to the Frenkel family to strengthen their hands, just like they came and strengthened the hands of the entire nation of Israel.
“I thought that after the Baruch’s attack there wouldn’t be any more attacks, and I was wrong," Mizrahi added. "Apparently the only deterrence for terrorists is for the court to give them a death sentence. I hope that they will be able to heal and be a healthy family, because there is no comfort.”
