MK who lost her husband to terror faces ‘dilemma’ with massacre footage

‘On the other hand, my role as a public representative is to look straight ahead, not to run away, and not to ignore reality.’

By World Israel News Staff

Before MK Limor Son Har-Melech, along with other Knesset members, viewed the footage of the Hamas atrocities on October 7th, she recalled the tragic circumstances of her late husband Shuli’s murder at the hands of terrorists two decades ago.

She said a dilemma she faced then of whether to view his remains contributed to ambivalence about watching the graphic footage of the October 7 attacks.

Har Melech addressed the Knesset, “When the graphic footage was shown, I was debating whether to enter.”

“On the one hand, I wanted to preserve my innocence for a bit longer. On the other hand, my role as a public representative is to look straight ahead, not to run away, and not to ignore reality. To know everything that our brothers in the South went through and to make decisions from clear knowledge and recognition of who the enemy is and of their monstrous ways.”

She explained the dilemma of whether or not to view the footage reminded her of a similar decision, “I asked to see Shuli. I said I’m not ready to bury him before I see him with my own eyes.”

“After I insisted, the chevrei kadisha refused. Dr. Mati Erlichman said to me, ‘Limor, I saw this, but you shouldn’t see it. You should remember him as he was – the wide smile, the light on his face, the goodness that poured out of him. You should not have this image burned into your memory as the way he ended his life. He was right.”

In 2003, Limor Son Har-Melech, who was expecting, and her husband Shuli were driving near Ramallah when they were attacked by five terrorists. Shuli was killed instantly and Limor was critically injured and gave birth through caesarian section.

Limor was later evacuated from Homesh in 2005 during disengagement. She married her current husband Yehuda and had eight additional children.