Six Israelis injured in terrorist attacks abroad recognized as victims of terror
Following a law amendment, the Defense Ministry recognizes six Israelis, who were either killed or injured in terrorist attacks abroad, as victims of terror acts.
The Israelis who were recognized as victims of hostility were Dalia Elyakim, who was murdered in the December 2016 vehicle-ramming attack in Berlin, her husband Rami Elyakim who was seriously injured, Layan Nasser, who was murdered in Istanbul on New Year's Eve, and Samuel Benalal who was murdered in a hotel attack in Mali in November 2015. In addition, the Ministry of Defense also recognized two Israelis who were injured in the terrorist attack at the Brussels airport in March of last year; brothers-in-law Chaim Winternitz and Menachem Mendel Farkash.
The amendment to the law that was approved last month in the Knesset determined that a person who was injured in a terrorist attack abroad by an organization which had officially declared that at least one of its objectives is to harm Israel, Israeli citizens or Jews—will be recognized as a victim of hostility, even if the purpose of the particular attack was not to cause harm to Israel or the Jewish people. The Defense Ministry said that the decision would provide the victims and their families the full rights and assistance reserved for victims of hostilities.
Dalia Elyakim, 66, and her husband Rami, 63, of Herzliya, were injured in the deadly truck-ramming attack in the Christmas market in Berlin that claimed the lives of 12 people. The terrorist, Anis Amri, was caught a few days later in Italy and shot dead by police forces.
Layan Nasser, 19, from Tira, was killed in a shooting attack at the Reina Club in Istanbul during the New Year celebrations, when over 500 people were present. Thirty-nine people were killed, and Nasser was initially defined as "unreachable." Nasser's friend was moderately injured.
Samuel Benalal, 60, from Tzur Hadassah, who served as an adviser to the Mali government, was killed in a terrorist attack by Islamist militants at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the West African capital. In the attack, 170 people were held hostage, and 27 were killed. It was reported that a few individuals were released by the terrorists after they succeeded in reciting verses from the Quran.
Haim Winternitz, 28, who was injured along with his brother-in-law Menachem Mendel Farkash in a terror attack at the airport in Brussels, said in the aftermath: "There was great fear, a mess, I felt like an emissary from heaven had saved me, it took three hours to get me to the hospital. I saw things falling to the floor and I recited, 'Hear O Israel, the LORD our God.'" Eleven people were killed in the attack, and shortly afterwards another attack was carried out at a subway station in the city, where 15 people were killed.
(Translated and edited by N. Elias)
