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RABBI ELI AND DINA HOROWITZ KILLED IN ATTACK AT KIRYAT ARBA

                               
                        Mourners surrounding the bodies of Eliahu and Dina Horowitz
                                                 at their Hebron funeral Sunday.

Two Palestinian gunmen infiltrated through a fence into the city of Kiryat Arba Friday night and launched a shooting attack that killed Rabbi Eli Horowitz and his wife Dina in their home after they had conclued the festive Sabbath meal.

Five Israelis were also injured, one seriously. IDF forces in the area thwarted a nearly simultaneous attack on the nearby settlement of Negohot, about ten miles to the southwest.

The terrorists, reportedly disguised as religious Jews in white shirts and knit skullcaps, penetrated the Kiryat Arba security fence just before 9:00 p.m. Friday night, opening fire on Israeli residents Mordechai and Aliza Seyad who were walking in the area. Aliza sustained serious injuries from the shooting. The terrorists then proceeded to enter the ground floor apartment of the Horowitz family through a side window, throwing grenades and shooting in all directions.

Leah Granot, who lives one floor above the Horowitz flat, explained how they heard the attack unfold. "We were witnesses to the most horrifying thing that can be. We heard how in the apartment underneath us terrorists were slaughtering Rabbi Horowitz, while Dina attempted to flee, screaming and shouting in fear," she said. The terrorists killed both Eli and Dina Horowitz, and lightly injured their Sabbath guest, who managed to escape from the apartment into the courtyard.

The Kiryat Arba emergency response squad arrived quickly at the scene and conducted an exchange of gunfire with the terrorists. "We didn't think twice. We immediately opened fire to contain the terrorists in the apartment," an emergency squad member said. IDF Nahal brigade soldiers arrived moments later and stormed the building, killing the two terrorists. Four soldiers were lightly wounded in the ensuing gunfight.

Kiryat Arba, one of the largest Jewish communities in the Judea region south of Jerusalem, adjacent to the ancient divided Arab-Jewish city of Hebron, has been the frequent target of Palestinian terror attacks in recent months, many of which have taken place on Sabbath eve.

There was also a failed terror infiltration at the same time Friday evening in the small settlement of Negohot, south of Hebron, with two terrorists shot dead and no Israeli casualties. The head of Central Command, Major General Moshe Kaplinsky said that he believed the two infiltrations were coordinated, and praised security forces that had prevented a large-scale attack. "There is no doubt based on the equipment they were carrying, that the terrorists planned to carry out a massive attack. They planned to combine a shooting attack with the detonation of an explosive belt," Kaplinsky said.

A statement by Hamas military wing, Izzadin Kassam, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to recent IDF operations in the Gaza Strip.

Horowitz couple admired as models of tolerance
Eli Horowitz was born in Chicago, son of prominent American Rabbi Moshe Horowitz, who moved to Israel with his family. Eli returned to the U.S. and immigrated to Israel on his own in the early 1970s, choosing to settle on the secular Kibbutz Hulata. Only after meeting Dina, a student at a Jerusalem seminary, did Eli return to orthodox Judaism and become and educator.

At the time of his murder he taught at Shavei Hevron, Midreshet Harova in Jerusalem's Old City, Mitzpeh Ramon, and Netzarim in Gush Katif. He was also a skilled amateur carpenter.

Dina was born Debbie Wolf in Florida, and was a graduate of the Hebrew Academy and the Yeshiva High School of Greater Washington, DC. She came to Israel at the age of 18 to study, and met and married Eli Horowitz 29 years ago. Dina taught at the Kiryat Arba Ulpana Girls High School and at Midreshet Harova in Jerusalem's Old City. Dina was also an educator with a great passion for music. She taught piano.

What they are most remembered for in Kiryat Arba is the counseling and guidance they provided to married couples throughout the years. The Horowitz's children, Batsheva and Tzvi, said their parents' relationship and mutual respect served as a role model for others. They "were like a newlywed couple. On Friday morning they managed to find time to go for a hike in the hills near Kiryat Arba, and dad took pictures of mom among the flowers. They were people who always radiated warmth and love."

Friends of the slain couple say they devoted their lives to helping others and maintained an open, tolerant environment in their Kiryat Arba home. Rabbi Horowitz was known for his moderate political views and he participated in meetings encouraging dialogue between settlers and peace organizations, and condemned acts of violence by Arabs or Jews.

"Mother and father believed in the security in place in Kiryat Arba, but after the security coordinator was killed in an attack, I said to my wife, the day is not far away when they will succeed in infiltrating into Kiryat Arba as well." Tzvi added.

Dina and Eli Horowitz, who lived in Kiryat Arba for 19 years, will be buried in Jerusalem. They leave behind four children - Batsheva, 30; Zvi, 26; Nehama, 22; Shulamit, 20 - and five grandchildren.  (FROM ISRAEL INSIDER)

The terrorists gun used in Kiryat Arba attack

  The funeral underway for the Horowitz couple from Hebron


FROM HEBRON NEWS AGENCY
The attack began earlier in the evening when the two terrorists cut a hole in the electric fence surrounding Kiryat Arba at the south-east corner of the community. A warning was automatically received by the town's security forces, who sent a guard to investigate. The terrorists, realizing that they would be discovered, replaced the cut-out section of the fence and hid. The Kiryat Arba guard searched the area, and finding nothing, returned to his patrol. The terrorists waited about a half and hour and then crawled back through the hole, hidden by bushes and trees, and then walked out into the street. They were dressed in black and according to eye-witness accounts, were wearing white kippot (yarmulkes) on their heads.  Walking several meters they saw a Kiryat Arba family walking down the road and opened fire on them. The woman, Aliza Sa'aid, hit in the neck and stomach, fell and rolled under a parked truck. Her husband Mordechai, despite being hit in both legs, tried to shoot at the gunmen, but his weapon jammed. He ran from the site to seek help and notify others of the attack.