Rivlin visits family of rabbi slain in West Bank terror stabbing

President Reuven Rivlin pays a condolence visit to the family of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, who was killed in a West Bank terror attack Monday.

“I came to be with you not only because of [the Biblical] commandment of comforting mourners but also on the personal level of friendship,” Rivlin tells Ben-Gal’s widow Mariam, four children and other relatives.

“I read and learned a lot about [Ben-Gal’s] actions and deeds and I will also host the students of this wonderful teacher at the President’s Residence in order to sit and discuss with them the terrible events,” he adds.

Ben-Gal, 29, lived in the Har Bracha settlement and was a middle school teacher at a yeshiva in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givat Shmuel.

Security forces are searching for 19-year-old Arab Israeli Abed al-Karim Assi, who is suspected of carrying out Monday’s stabbing outside the settlement of Ariel.