Man Murdered in Gush Etzion Attack Named- Ari Fuld. That’s the headline I saw and my brain went, wait…what? I had to read it twice. I thought it must mean Ari Fuld wrote the piece. So I read the first sentence.
Man murdered in stabbing at Gush Etzion Junction identified as Ari Fuld of Efrat, a father of four and a known pro-Israel activist.
I met Ari Fuld while waiting in line at the cheese counter at Rami Levy in Gush Etzion. He was standing behind me.Why I remembered this, I can’t say. It’s relevant because it illustrates that in this tiny country there are less than six degrees of separation. It’s why when we mourn here in Israel it feels so personal.
Ari Fuld was murdered by a seventeen year old from Yatta, a village near Hebron. What I can say for certain is that his act of violence was senseless. No act of terror in Israel has resulted in gains for the Palestinians. What I can also say for certain is that Ari Fuld’s life was not senseless. He had a family that loved him and a passion about Israel. Someone called him a lion of Judah because he was so rooted in this country that he loved. Being like a lion guarding Israel was a part of him, much like his name, Ari, suggests.
There is no justification for the murder of Ari Fuld. To justify it is to be complicit in normalizing hate and violence.
I’m looking out my window as I write this. I can see parts of Gush Etzion from where I live. The sky is just starting to turn pink at the edges as day turns to night. The lion of Judea will not be heard tonight. The silence is filled with sadness.