Two fathers who grew up together died together defending Kerem Shalom
Kibbutz members Amichai Yisrael Witzen, 32, and Moshe Yedidia Raziel (Rosenberg), 31, fought Hamas terrorists for hours. They were shot dead while protecting a family
Close friends Amichai Yisrael Witzen, 32, and Moshe Yedidia Raziel (Rosenberg), 31, fell on Saturday after fighting terrorists for six hours in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, near the Gaza Strip.
On hearing the Hamas rocket barrage at 6:30 a.m., they gathered with seven other members of the community’s emergency defense team, along with six soldiers who were on site.
The kibbutz security coordinator split them into groups. Witzen, a father of five, and Raziel, a father of three, were put together.
The force of 15 fought unaided for six hours, according to the Hebrew-language Srugim website.
Witzen and Raziel were shot dead as they prepared to take on terrorists who had thrown a grenade into a kibbutz house, killing a father inside who was sheltering with his wife and six children.
Other defense team members immediately killed the terrorists, and the rest of the family in the house survived.
The Kerem Shalom defenders fought on from the early morning until the army arrived in the afternoon.
The two men grew up together in the West Bank’s Psagot settlement, studied social work in Ashkelon, on the southern coast, and went to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom as part of a religious group.
Two other defense team members were injured during the fighting, along with a resident whose house was entered by terrorists.
