2 murdered, 2 wounded in Jerusalem attackRabbi Nehemia Lavi, 41
Oct 3, 2015 - Rabbi Nehemia Lavi was stabbed to death in Jerusalem's Old City when he came to the aid of the Bennett family, attacked by a Palestinian terrorist.
At around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening (October 3, 2015), a knife-wielding Arab attacked Aharon Bennett, his wife, their 2-year-old son and infant who were on their way to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City. Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, an Old City resident and IDF reserve officer, went down with his gun to try and save those wounded by the Arab terrorist in the attack, but the terrorist stabbed him and seized his weapon. Lavi and Bennett, who were stabbed in the upper body and were unconscious when paramedics arrived at the scene, died in hospital shortly afterwards.
Rabbi Lavi, father of seven, is originally from Beit El in Binyamin north of Jerusalem, but has lived in the Old City for the past 23 years. He is a rabbi at Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim.
According to his friends, he went down with his gun to try and save those wounded by the Arab terrorist in the attack. He volunteered last summer to take an officer's course as part of his IDF reserve duty, so as to become an officer in the army and stay on longer: "He was supposed to be released from reserve duty and went to this course only so as not to be released at the usual age, so that he could continue to contribute to the people of Israel."
Rabbi Nehemia Lavi will be buried in the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife and seven children.
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