Rivlin visits bereaved families of terror victims
President visits homes of Adiel Kolman, Lt. Ziv Daus and Sgt. Netanel Kahalani, all of whom were murdered in terror attacks in past 7 days; 'Our children grow up and are tasked with our defense. When such a calamity befalls us, we look up to you,' president tells Daus's family, later asking Kolman's widow to 'lend me your strength.'
President Reuven Rivlin paid his respects Wednesday to the family of Adiel Kolman, who was murdered in a Jerusalem stabbing attack this week, and the families of Lieutenant Ziv Daus and Sergeant Netanel Kahalani, murdered in the ramming attack near Mevo Dotan this past weekend.
Visiting the Daus residence, the president listened to stories about Ziv and his family. His father, Ronen, told Rivlin about his late son's military service in Home Front Command's search and rescue brigade, and said, "Ziv's loss is a loss to us as a family, but also a loss to the entire country."
President Rivlin said, "Our boys, all of our children, received brief training and in a moment become commanders we all look up to. Ziv's image will accompany all those who knew him. The unit he commanded is an immensely important facet in our defensive conception and its people serve as a source of pride for us."
The Daus family also shared the president with the warmth and support they have been receiving from Ziv's unit since the horrendous attack and asked to thank his commanders, who were always by them during the shivah (the seven-day Jewish period of mourning).
Rivlin replied, "Our children grow up and are tasked with our defense. When such a calamity befalls us, we look up to you—to your ability to cope, your strength," and expressed his wish for days of joy rather than sorrow.
In his visit with the Kolman family, the president expressed much the same sentiment, saying, "Adiel was murdered in the midst of Jerusalem, in the heart of the country to which we returned after innumerable years in exile. Your strength allows us to go on."
"Beloved mother," he continued, "when I heard you saying you choose life, when I heard about the strength you found to tell the people of Israel about your special son, how encompassing his soul was, on the morning of his demise, my heart broke."
Adiel's mother then thanked the president and said she wished to congratulate both him and Israel's leadership in stewarding the people through this difficult period.
Adiel's wife Ayelet spoke about his job in Jerusalem's City of David and his love for both the place and the work he had done.
"I ask you to lend me your strength," Rivlin told her. "The strength to carry on for the children and for us all."
Ayelet's father then promised the president that "Adiel's children will continue growing in strength. God will avenge the blood that was spilt thanks to our strength to carry on, raise children and grow stronger in our homeland."
The president also visited the family of Sergeant Netanel Kahalani, who was murdered in a car ramming attack this past weekend, in Eliakim. Netanel's father shared with the president the immense pain and his grievances with Israel's punitive and deterrence policy vis-à-vis terrorists.
The fallen soldier's grandmother then spoke at length about her dedicated grandson and his infinite giving. "'I'll never leave you, grandma,' he told me. 'I'll take you wherever you want to go,'" she said.
Netanel's father said, "After his death I became aware of the kind of person he was. How he touched every man, how much he helped every man he encountered—both in the unit and in our community."
President Rivlin responded to the bereaved father by saying, "We have been in our land for centuries. Oh, the state, industry and society we have built. The pain is immense, I know, and each family is a world entire. The Kahalani family is one which has positioned its sons on all our borders throughout the country's existence and has produced our finest soldiers."
Kahalani's elder brother Yonatan then said, "My brother Netanel was golden. He gave to us all without asking for anything in return. They say every man is a world entire but until that hits you like lightning, you don't realize the enormity of the loss. Fathers who bury their children fly against the laws of nature. Something has to change."
