There were no metal detectors or cameras outside of the Salomon’s home in the town of Halamish when a lone terrorist came inside and slaughtered three family members last Shabbat night.
The Salomons were finishing up a festive meal honoring the birth of a grandson when a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist armed with a knife knocked on the door, entered the house and stabbed Yosef Salomon, 70; his daughter Chaya Salomon, 46, and son Elad Salomon, 36, to death. Tova Salomon, 68, Yosef’s wife, remains in critical condition. She was stabbed several times.
The murders were accurately described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an act of terrorism “committed by a reprehensible person incited by wild hatred.”
At the same time, the knife-wielding terrorist, wounded by a neighbor and captured by security forces, received unbridled, but not surprising, support from the toxic reasoning of Palestinian society.
We are not here to tell Israel what to do when it comes to its security. We hope that the decision to remove the metal detectors from the Temple Mount is the correct decision. And we wonder out loud why Jews and others who seek the solace of the Kotel continue to pass peacefully through metal detectors and security stations without violence. Yet, the Muslims feel security is an insult.
We can never forget the service of two Israeli Druze police officers who gave their lives to protect the area, murdered by three Palestinian terrorists.
And, needless to say, what happened to the Salomon family cannot be pushed out of the 24-hour news cycle by the total disregard for Jewish lives by the Palestinians.
We know that Israel was vigilant enough to stand up to world criticism when it constructed its security wall. Since the wall, the number of terrorist acts has dramatically decreased. In the 1980s and ‘90s, when the borders were open and the checkpoints lax, terrorism increased. When the borders were tightened and checkpoints more stringent, again a dramatic decrease in the loss of Jewish lives by Palestinian terrorists. Security equals less Jewish blood spilled. Loosening of security equals imminent threats to Israelis.
Also, we would think that Israel, the very nation that the rest of the world turns to for security strategies and anti-terrorism procedures, can come up with an even better way to police the Temple Mount. Its “smart check” technology is an important implementation and should be put to use immediately, despite the outcries of the Palestinians and their supporters.
May we remember the names of Yosef, Chaya and Elad Salomon. May Tova Salomon have a complete refuah shleima. And may their grandchildren and the Children of Israel no longer suffer at the hand of terrorism.
