Parents of slain teen visit family of murdered rabbi
Rena Ariel, whose daughter was stabbed to death in her bed, consoles Mark family, whose father was killed a day later
The parents of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, the 13-year-old Israeli girl killed by a Palestinian terrorist in her bed in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba last week, on Thursday paid a condolence visit to the family of Rabbi Miki Mark, who was shot dead in a terror attack near Otniel a day later.
The Ariel family ended the seven-day shiva mourning period for Hallel on Thursday morning.
Rena Ariel, Hallel’s mother, extended her wishes for a speedy recovery for Chava Mark, who is still in the hospital with injuries sustained in the attack that killed her husband.
The Jerusalem Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital on Thursday said there was a marked improvement in Chava Mark’s condition.
Mark is fully conscious and speaking with her relatives, the hospital said.
Hallel Ariel was stabbed to death in her bed in Kiryat Arba on Thursday morning.
On Friday, Mark was killed in a drive-by shooting outside of the West Bank city of Hebron. His wife was badly injured and two of his children were also hurt.
Rena Ariel on Thursday also urged Israeli Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount on Tuesday in memory of Hallel. The flashpoint site, holy to both Jews and Muslims, has been the center of much of the Palestinian violence that broke out in October.
Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to change the status quo at the site, under which Jews may visit but cannot pray. Israel denies there are any changes.
“The terrorist butchered our daughter in her heart, and our heart is in the Temple Mount,” she said in a video. “Anyone who can come strengthen our heart [should], not through war and not through hate. Support us so that our strength and our heart should continue beating.”