'Pray for him,' says family of rabbi critically wounded in West Bank shooting
Doctors fighting to save life of Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger, a father of 12, as relatives and friends pay tribute to a yeshiva founder and outreach worker in south Tel Aviv
Doctors at Beilinson Hospital were fighting Sunday to save the life a rabbi and father of 12 who was left in critical condition after the shooting attack in the West Bank hours earlier tha left one dead and two badly wounded.
The family of Rabbi Ahiad Ettinger, aged 47, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Eli, has asked for people to pray for his recovery.
For the past three years, Rabbi Ettinger has been at the head of the Oz and Emunah hesder yeshiva (seminary that combines religious study with IDF service) in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood of southern Tel Aviv.
The yeshiva website says that its aim is to "strengthen and rehabilitate the neighborhood and its Jewish residents, to let new blood flow through its veins, and to restore its Jewish and spiritual character. The problem of illegal immigrants in Israel is currently found in Tel Aviv, but it is spreading to other cities around the country.
"We are helping to stem the problem with the yeshiva physically in the neighborhood, while providing a sense of Judaism, belonging and security to the residents," the website said.
"We really love the rabbi, it's very important for us to strengthen the people of Israel and the rabbi's family at this hour," says A., who is studying at the yeshiva.
"We heard this morning about the shooting incident, but we did not really connect it to the rabbi," A. said. "People from the yeshiva have started organizing visits to Beilinson Hospital in order to be with the rabbi and his family, and to see how we can help the family at this time."
Rabbi Ettinger's neighbor, Aviad, told Ynet: "We are praying for a miracle and his recovery. Soon we will organize prayers for his recovery at the settlement. Rabbi Ettinger is a person who always turns to Jewish law for answers.
"He saw his work in south Tel Aviv as mission, and opened a yeshiva there to increase the number of Jews in the area. We are hoping for a miracle."
The IDF launched a massive manhunt to track down the attacker, who fled the scene of the attack in a stolen car.
