Thousands attend funeral of family members slain in Halamish attack

Michal Salomon thanked her husband, Elad, for giving his life to save her and their five children from a terrorist with a knife.

The hot, late afternoon air hardly seemed to move as she stood in the cemetery in Modi’in to bid farewell to Elad, 36, his sister Chaya, 46, and her father-in-law, Yosef, 70.

The three members of her family were killed on Friday night when a Palestinian terrorist, dressed as a Sabbath-observant Jew, entered her in-laws’ home in the Halamish settlement.

Her in-laws, Yosef and his wife, Tovah, who was wounded in the attack, were just about to hold a communal Friday night party to celebrate the birth of a grandson.

Michal was able to flee to an upstairs room with her five children.

She described for the mourners the quiet but knowing look that passed between her and Elad in those last moments.

“On Friday night we signed onto an unwritten agreement. You saw me run upstairs with the children to protect them and you fought with the terrorist so he wouldn’t harm us.

I stood by my part of the bargain and so did you and you paid with your life,” she said.

“Thirteen years ago we met in Neveh Tzuf [Halamish], the place where we were parted in a cruel way that we never anticipated,” she said.

Michal described how she and Elad built a home with five children in the city of Elad in the center of the country.

“You were the most perfect father. You were delighted by every birth,” said Michal.

She described a father who could both be a teacher to his children and at the same time play with them as if he himself were still a boy.

“We had a good partnership and a true love. We made joint decisions even when we didn’t speak. You were always there for me,” said Michal.

“Now you are not here and that frightens me.

“You were happy and you loved life. You loved your family and the Sabbath time we spent together. I thank you for all the good years I did not expect it would all be over in an instant.”

She was calm as she spoke, but Yosef’s daughter Orit broke into tears as she described a father who always told her he wanted to make everyone happy and ensure that everything came out right in the end.

“Now nothing is fine,” she said.

Of her sister Chaya, she said she had always been a good friend to their mother and promised she would now care for her in her stead.

Orit’s husband, Ron, spoke of how much he loved his father-in-law. “You made me feel as if I was your son.

From the moment we met 20 years ago, you always made sure we would not want for anything.

“You didn’t just worry about us, you worried about everyone. You so loved and waited for happy occasions. You were always in the center of the circle.

Everyone knew that Yosef Salomon was always filled with happiness.”

Of his sister-in-law Chaya, “You did not have a husband or children of your own. But you taught so many girls over the years, they were your daughters and you were like a mother to them. This year you received an award as a teacher of excellence. But you could also have been given an award for being such a great aunt.”

He also described her courage in making it out the door of the home to scream for assistance during the attack.

“You were brave when after you were stabbed you used your last ounce of strength to go outside and call for help,” he said.