'His family meant everything to him'
Jerusalem residents Dov and Rachel Cole, who were murdered in Palestinian shooting on Sunday, left behind three children and a granddaughter who was born just last month; they 'strengthened' their family, niece says
"They were just thrilled," said the couple's niece, Moria Cohen.
The couple had been driving home to Jerusalem after spending the Sabbath in the Gaza settlement of Ganei Tal when Palestinian terrorists ambushed and fired at their vehicle, killing them and later injuring seven more Israelis who had rushed to try and help them.
"The whole family came," said Cohen, 17, who lives in the settlement. "Our family is very close, we are always together. Everyone was happy during the Sabbath. When it ended, my relatives prepared to drive back home."
She said they had started to leave Ganei Tal but then they heard the Kissum crossing was closed because of a shooting attack. They returned to the settlement, watched a movie with the family and then set out again, accompanied by three more cars, after the road was reopened.
"We got a call from other relatives who told us 'there is shooting, there is shooting, we're coming back.' We tried to reach them all by phone. We got in contact with the relatives who crossed the border, but we couldn't reach the Coles," Cohen said.
"Everyone at home started to pray. We didn't understand what happened at first. People started arriving at the house to try to help. Only then we learned that the worst had happened."
Couple survived by three children
The Coles leave behind three children - Hila, 24, Tamar, 17 and Yehonatan, 15. Hila had given birth to their first granddaughter Hillel a month ago.
Rachel had worked as a laboratory assistant in Haddasah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem. Dov was a spokesman for the Social Security services.
"She was the family psychologist - she always solved the problems in the family," Cohen said. "She was always helping everyone and organizing things."
"Dov was a happy man. You would look at him and simply admire him. He lost his first wife 20 years ago but remarried and started a wonderful family. His family meant everything to him."
Cohen said Dov was a "man of peace" and had many Arab friends.
"He always spoke about peace - he was very open, politically" she said. "It's very difficult to think he was killed by bullets of Palestinian terrorists."
