Shalom Sherki, 25, killed in car ramming attackShira Klein, 20, critically injured
Apr 15, 2015 - Shalom Yohai Sherki, 25, was run down and killed on Wednesday night at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem in a terrorist attack.
Khaled Koutineh, 37, a resident of northern Jerusalem, was driving from the center of Jerusalem toward the French Hill neighborhood when he suddenly swerved and rammed into a bus station. He hit Shalom Sherki and Shira Klein, who were sitting at the station, with great force, causing severe head injuries. The driver, who was trapped inside his vehicle, was apprehended and taken to hospital for treatment. Following investigation, Israel Police chief Yohanan Danino ruled out initial suggestions that the attack had been an accident.
Shira Klein, 20, from Yakir, who was injured in the same car ramming attack, is still hospitalized in Jerusalem in a medically induced coma.
Shalom Sherki was the second of seven siblings. He attended the Bnei Tzvi yeshiva in Bet El, where he became a youth counselor after completing his army service in the navy. He was also a tour guide for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. He attended the Herzog teachers' college in Gush Etzion.
Sherki's father, Rabbi Uri Sherki, eulogized his son, saying, "The doctors who treated you said that there was no doubt that you saved the life of the woman standing next to you. Always, in every place you appeared, wherever there was tension you brought peace. You were red-haired like King David." Yair, speaking about his brother's work as a tour guide, said, "You left no one angry, but you are leaving behind so many sad children." Elisha Cohen, Sherki's cousin, recounted that "he smiled all the time. There is no way to describe this person; he was very, very positive."
Fellow students at the Bnei Tzvi yeshiva related an incident one Shabbat during last year's snowstorm, when the yeshiva lost electricity and began to run low on food. Shalom organized the students into teams and baked pitta bread over gas fires. "Instead of a depressing Shabbat full of low spirits, thanks to Shalom we had a happy, uplifting and unforgettable Shabbat."
Shalom Yohai Sherki was laid to rest in Jerusalem. He is survived by his parentsê Uri and Ronit, and six siblings.
|
