A prominent American-born Israeli activist, Ari Fuld, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian teenager outside a shopping mall near the West Bank city of Efrat on Sunday, The Times of Israel reported.
Despite his fatal wounds, Fuld chased and shot the terrorist after he was stabbed, preventing the assailant from harming others. Fuld was rushed to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center in unstable condition and pronounced dead by doctors an hour later.
Born in New York, Ari Fuld, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, immigrated to Israel in 1994. He lived in Efrat with his wife Miriam, and was the father of Tamar, 22, Naomi, 21, Yakir, 17, and Natan 12. Fuld served as a sergeant in an elite paratroopers unit in the IDF reserves and was an active member of the Efrat emergency squad.
Israeli media identified the attacker as Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, a 17-year-old from a nearby Palestinian village. He was taken to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in moderate condition with multiple gunshot wounds, hospital officials said.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum praised Fuld for his pro-Israel activism.
“With his last strength, Ari fought heroically against the terrorist and prevented a greater tragedy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “Ari was a wonderful father to four children. He was an advocate for Israel who fought to spread the truth about Israel. May his memory be a blessing.” Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett also met with the family of the victim.
Likewise, on Monday, opposition leader Tzipi Livni visited the family’s home in Efrat. “I came to comfort and embrace the family of Ari Fuld, a hero who in his last moments fought and saved the lives of others,” Livni said. “It is important to me to stress to the family that even if we have disagreements, we are all partners in our love for the people of Israel and the land of Israel. I share in their pain from the terrible loss and the anger at the terror which we’re all united in fighting.”
United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman eulogized Ari Fuld on Sunday, shortly after the dual citizens was stabbed to death, as “a passionate defender of Israel and an American patriot” and “the best of both countries.”
His predecessor, Dan Shapiro, also condemned Fuld’s murder as “an outrageous act of terrorism, which should be loudly condemned by all. May Ari’s memory be a blessing and a source of comfort to his family and community.”
In an exclusive interview with The Israel Project, Avi Abelow, a close friend of Ari Fuld, praised him as a brave hero, “who has always been passionate about Israel and the Jewish people” and was driven by the desire to “tell the truth.”
The Israel Project also spoke to Lior Shourka, who served with Fuld in the civilian emergency services unit in his hometown of Efrat. Shourka remembered Fuld as a man “with a big heart, who did a lot for his nation, his family, his community.” He added: “This is what happens when the Palestinian government teaches terror, teachers hate. They give money to terrorists.”
[Photo: ILTV ISRAEL DAILY / YouTube ]