Thousands of people attended on Monday the funeral of South Africa-born Eliyahu (Eli) Kay who was killed the day before in a terror attack in Jerusalem's Old City.
The crowd of mourners, many of them young people and soldiers, gathered at Jerusalem's Har HaMenuchot Cemetery, where Kay was laid to rest.
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Mourners grieve the death of South Africa-born Eli Kay, who was killed by a Palestinian gunman the day before in a terror attack in Jerusalem's Old City, at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem, November 22, 2021
(Photo: AFP)
The 26-year-old Kay was pronounced dead in a Jerusalem hospital on Sunday after being wounded in a gunfire attack carried out by a Palestinian member of the Islamist terror group Hamas. He was killed on his way to work as a guide at the Western Wall.
Another civilian and two police officers were wounded, with the perpetrator shot dead by Israeli forces.
Eli's brother Kasriel, who did not eulogize him per his Chabad Hasidic tradition, said that there is "no reason to be sad for him... He will be in peace."
Recalling his brother's service as a combat medic in the Gaza Strip, he said that "when the Holy One wants a person, he takes him. Eli would have [chosen] no other way [to die], either this or in the middle of the war."
"My great-grandfather Eliyahu is waiting for him [in Heaven], King David is waiting for him and they will take care of him."
Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai described Eli as "the story of Israel at its best."
"To love this land — coming to it and giving it everything you can," he said.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said the "premeditated attack" was carried out by a Hamas operative living in the Shuafat neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
Hamas, who rule the Gaza Strip, identified the attacker as Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, congratulated him and hailed the "continuation" of the fight to "liberate" Jerusalem.
On Hamas's Al-Quds TV channel, banners were screened in "tribute" to Abu Shkayhdam.
Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites who employed Kay, described him as a "sweet, young man who had his whole life ahead of him" and who made a point of "greeting everyone warmly irrespective of their religion, faith, or origin."