A four-day-old baby boy who was delivered prematurely after his mother was shot by a terrorist Sunday evening, was laid to rest late Wednesday on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. His mother, father and five others were wounded in a drive-by shooting aimed at a candle-lighting ceremony on the last night of Chanukah.
The child, son of Shira and Amichai Ish-Ran of Israel’s Elon Moreh settlement, was delivered by Caesarean section at 30 weeks in an attempt to save his life.
Among the hundreds of mourners who attended the funeral were the baby's two grandfathers, one of whom, Rabbi Raphael Ish-Ran, announced as part of his eulogy the name of the baby given him by his parents posthumously — Amiad Yisrael, meaning “Israel stands forever.”
“It is written in Jewish law that a name must be given to the baby,” Ish-Ran said, “so your parents have given a name, which is of great significance and symbolizes everything - Amiad Yisrael, our people are here forever. The people of Israel are here forever.”
Doctors at the Shaarei Tzedek Medical center reported that the mother, who fought for her life in the four days since the attack, remains in serious but improving condition. She and her husband, who has been confined to a wheelchair since the shooting, were able to see their child for the first time only hours before he died.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli security forces north of Ramallah killed the terrorist responsible for the attack in an exchange of gunfire.
In the shooting at the Ofra Junction last Sunday, the 21-year-old mother was critically wounded from a shot to her lower abdomen, her husband was shot three times, another adult was moderately wounded, and four teenagers were lightly wounded.
They were part of a group that was taking part in a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of a car-accident victim at a bus station near the junction. IDF troops nearby responded by firing on the suspected vehicle, which fled.
Among the outcry in the aftermath of the incident and news of the baby’s death came the words of Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Palestinian terrorists shot an unborn child who was born out of the fire,” he said. “His short life was spent in the struggle for his life. Our hearts are with Amichai and Shira. The heart cries out.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Our hearts are with Shira and Amichai over the passing of their four-day-old son who did not even have a name. The murderers are abhorrent, the most deviant criminals on earth.”
President Reuven Rivlin called the parents “true heroes,” posting a poem “the parable of the fledgling” by Eli Eliyahu about a baby bird that falls from his nest and cannot be rescued.
“We are with you, embracing you, and will not rest until this despicable terrorism is uprooted,” he said.
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