The family of Maia and Rina Dee outside their home in Efrat ahead of the two sisters' funeral on April 9, 2023. (Gershon Elinson/FLASH90)
Hundreds of mourners have gathered for the funeral in Kfar Etzion of sisters Maia Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, who were slain by Palestinian gunmen on Friday in the northern West Bank.
The mourners sing psalms and songs of lamentation, loss, and hope as they await the arrival of the funeral procession to the cemetery.
Udi Abramovitch, the head of the Midreshet Lindenbaum Lod religious seminary where Maia studied, says she had been a dedicated student who loved books and her religious studies.
“Maia loved the Land of Israel, she loved excursions around the country and would say how beautiful every place was,” says Abramovitch.
Among the mourners are congregants of the Radlett, UK, synagogue where the girls’ father Leo Dee served as rabbi for four years.
They describe the family as “very hospitable,” who always had their house open for guests.
Maia (left) and Rina Dee, sisters who were killed in a terrorist shooting attack in the West Bank on April 7, 2023. (Courtesy of the family)
“We’re devastated, they are a lovely family,” says one congregant who declined to give her name.
“They always talked about making aliyah, we always knew they would come back to Israel but they wanted to bring a bit of Israel and Judaism to Radlett first,” they say.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 9, 2023
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