Haim Fogel against horrific photos from the massacre: "Very disturbing and outrageous, it hurts us""

July 23, 2017   

Haim Fogel, a resident of the settlement of Neve Tzuf-Chalamish, and the father of Rabbi Udi Fogel, who was murdered with his wife and three children in the Itamar massacre in 2011, attacks the publication of the horrific photos from the Neve Tzuf-Chalamish massacre. "It is very disturbing and infuriating to see the photos," Fogel was quoted as saying on Channel 7. "My wife turned on the TV on Saturday night and saw the photos. It brought everything back to her." He added: "We are sorry that this is what is happening, it hurts families. Someone may have thought it was good to show the whole world that the blood is being shown. The problem is that it hurts us, it hurts families. What is it for?" "If it were possible to stop it, I would very much ask that it be stopped," Fogel pleaded. "Over time, it serves no purpose. I very much ask all the parties that arrive first on the scene, such as ZAKA and others, to simply not publish." Fogel told Israel Today last night about his difficult feelings: "Toba (the mother of the family, who was injured) was with us on Friday to get groceries. On Friday I saw Yossi, may his memory be blessed, and I said Shabbat Shalom to him. We have known each other for over 35 years, they are veterans of the community. Neve Tzuf is not a very large community, everyone knows everyone. We have lived here for almost 40 years." Haim said that he had a bad feeling before the event, and when "I heard the alarm I knew something had happened. It floods me with memories, but as someone who experienced this, we deal with it all year long. Of course, an event like this brings things up again, and you see that nothing has changed and they continue to murder and massacre us. But I don't want to go into all the memories and personal feelings because the ones who are at the center right now are the people who were injured." The Itamar massacre occurred on March 11, 2011, when two terrorists, Hakam and Amjad Awad, from the village of Awarta, entered the community. They broke into an empty house, stole a firearm from it, and then waited near the Fogel family's house, where a large Shabbat party was taking place. After a robbery, the terrorists entered the house. One of them stabbed 11-year-old Yoav to death, and together they murdered 4-year-old Elad, by stabbing and strangling him. Then they went to the parents' room and stabbed the father, 36-year-old Ehud, and the mother, 35-year-old Ruth. One of the terrorists returned to the house and heard the baby Hadas crying - and murdered her too.