Killing of Yehuda Shoham
| Yehuda Shoham | |
|---|---|
Site of the murder (Israel) | |
| Location | Eli |
| Date | June 5, 2001 100:00 pm |
Attack type | Stoning attack |
| Weapons | Large rock |
| Deaths | Five-month-old Israeli infant Yehuda Shoham |
| Perpetrators | Unknown Palestinian assailants |
The murder of Yehuda Shoham refers to the murder of Israeli infant Yehuda Shoham, who was 5 months old, and was killed on 5 June 2001 during a fatal stoning attack by Palestinians, while Yehuda was seated in his family's car and returning home. Yehuda died of severe head injuries from the stone which smashed into his skull, and his six-day struggle for life made headlines in Israel.[1][2][3][4]
Death
The incident occurred on 5 June 2001, as the family - parents Benny and Batsheva, and their only child Yehuda - approached Eli, after paying ashiva call in Ra'anana to Benny's father (Benny's 27-year old half-brother was killed in a traffic accident[2]), and were heading towards Shilo.[4] Eli is located on Highway 60, north of Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Near Eli, Palestinians hiding at the roadside hurled rocks at the car which broke through the car's windscreen and crushed the infant's skull. The father continued driving, worried about an ambush, and at a nearby intersection, the couple noticed their baby's head injuries.[4] The mother, Batsheva, rushed to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Yehuda until the arrival of paramedics.[5]
Yehuda was taken to an intensive care unit at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, unconscious and with severe head injuries. He was attached to a respirator for nearly a week before dying of severe brain damage on July 11.[6][1][2][4][3][7] During his time in the hospital, Yehuda's parents gave him a second name, "Chaim," which means life, hoping that he would live.[5]
Funeral
The funeral procession for Yehuda left from Jerusalem to the Shomron community of Shilo where Yehuda was buried. Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, spoke at the funeral,[3] saying:
I am not here to make a speech, but to weep, to weep together with you. May the memory of Yehuda be blessed.[5]
Reactions
Yehuda's father said:
If we are afraid of driving here, we will also be afraid in Tel Aviv or Netanya. The Jews are in danger everywhere in the State of Israel.[5]
One of Yehuda's cousins said, "He was just a baby, without any blame or enemies, killed for only one reason: he was a Jew at home in Eretz Yisrael."[5]
The murder of Yehuda angered Israel's 200,000 settlers who urged Ariel Sharon to end Israel's "policy of restraint", and abandon an abused ceasefire, and the Independent suggested that it would be cited by many Israelis as reason for stepping up military measures.[4]
In Yehuda's memory, his parents decided to collect donations for dormitories at the yeshiva in Shiloh.[5] His parents also decided to establish the Yehuda Fund in January 2002, which "works with friends and donors around the world to design and implement projects that can make an essential difference in the quality of life for Shiloh's residents."[8]
References
- ^ a b "Yehuda Shoham". MFA. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c "'It's as if we've been abandoned'". Jerusalem Post. 06-07-2001. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ a b c "Yehuda Shoham". Shilo. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d e "Settlers' baby dies after Palestinian stoning". The Independent. June 12, 2001. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d e f Meotti, Guilio (2009). A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 378. ISBN 145961741X.
- ^ "Disproportionate number of Anglos slain; Olmert praises families' dignity". Haaretz. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Singer, David and Grossman, Lawrence (2003). American Jewish Year, Book 2002. VNR AG. p. 561. ISBN 0874951178.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Yehuda Fund". Yehuda Fund. Retrieved August 07, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)