Divine providence? Israeli baby’s birth coincides with that of child lost to terror

Adva Biton’s seventh daughter will share a bittersweet birthday with an older sister she’ll never know.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Dr. Adva Biton gave birth to a healthy girl Sunday on the Hebrew date of the birth of her daughter Adele, who died in 2015 after a terror attack had left her semi-comatose for two years.

Adele was only four years old when she succumbed to pneumonia complications exacerbated by the injuries she sustained when Palestinians threw rocks at the car her mother was driving, causing her to crash into a truck.

From her bed at Sheba Hospital, the religious mother told the Ynet news site that she always had the feeling that the birthdays would coincide.

“As soon as my due date passed, the fortieth week, I saw Adele’s birthday on the horizon, the 15^th of Iyar, and felt that indeed it would happen on that day. When the baby emerged I felt an amazing connection, a Divine Providence.”

“It’s something very emotional,” she said, “and there are no coincidences. The ways of God are hidden, and there is a huge message here of continuity, of choosing life… Despite what I have gone through, I am a happy woman and look at all the good that exists in this life.”

In another interview, with the Mako news site, the new mother, who has six other daughters at home, explained her mixed feelings further.

“It’s a whole mix of emotions,” she said, “because there’s no doubt that this will accompany us and her for her whole life – that she will live with the knowledge that she was born on the same day as Adele.”

She then added, “Just as we live with this loss 24/7, we choose life and continue to bring life to the world… We live the loss and the pain and know how to live with it. [But] everyone is happy and excited and this brings a lot of light into our home.”

Adva Biton and two other daughters, aged four and five, were moderately injured in the 2013 attack on a Samaria highway. Adele, however, was directly hit by a fist-sized rock and sustained severe neurological damage.

Five terrorists were convicted of manslaughter in a plea bargain in the case in 2016. Each one received a 15-year sentence and were required to pay the Bitons NIS 30,000.