News Article

Netanel Litman, 18, murdered in shooting attack

His father Ya'akov also murdered

Nov 13, 2015 - Netanel Litman, 18, of Kiryat Arba, and his father Rabbi Ya'akov Litman, 40, were killed in a shooting attack while driving on Route 60 near Otniel, south of Hebron.

On Friday afternoon, the Litman family was traveling to a Shabbat pre-celebration ("Shabbat Hatan") in honor of the upcoming wedding of the eldest daughter, Sarah-Tehiya, scheduled for the coming Tuesday. Netanel was driving the car. When he slowed down at a curve, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire. Ya'akov was apparently struck first and mortally wounded. Netanel was shot while calling for help. Both died at the scene. His mother and three sisters were lightly wounded by shrapnel and the resulting crash. Dvir, 16, was shot in the leg.

Netanel, who aspired to be a doctor, had volunteered for the Magen David Adom emergency service in his spare time from the age of 15 - both in Kiryat Arba and at the Jerusalem station, located near the yeshiva where he studied. "I will always remember Netanel's smile," said Avishai Shapiro, a member of the Youth MDA in Jerusalem who knew him well.  was always smile on the face of Nathanael. "He always wanted to help everybody, and always did it with a huge smile. Just a week ago he had treated someone wounded in an attack at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and even in the attack in which he was brutally murdered he was the first to report."

Netanel Litman was buried in the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem. He is survived by his mother Noa, his brother Dvir (16), and sisters Sarah-Tehiya (21), Moriah (12), Tehila (9) and Aviya (6).