‘Stop turning the other cheek’: Rabbi’s widow praises destruction of terrorist’s home

“We must open our eyes and stop turning the other cheek,” said Sivan Ohayon.

By Josh Plank, World Israel News

Sivan Ohayon responded to Sunday night’s demolition by the IDF of the house of Khalil Dweikat, the Arab terrorist who murdered her husband, Rabbi Shai Ohayon, in August, Arutz 7 reported Monday.

“We are happy that the demolition of the terrorist’s house was facilitated and strengthen and embrace the security forces who are sacrificing their lives to protect the residents of Israel,” Ohayon said.

“We will not be silent and we will not restrain ourselves over Jewish blood that is shed just because of ingrained hatred – we have been silent for too many years!”

“We must open our eyes and stop turning the other cheek,” she said.

“An enemy stands in front of us who gives the feeling he is a victim and poor and we, out of great compassion, continue to support him and take care of him. In no other country in the world would they give it a place.”

“We pray to God and ask for the truth every day as my husband has always asked for it, that we will be able to distinguish between good and evil and know how to direct our compassion and concern to the right, worthy, and true places,” she said.

On October 25, the High Court rejected a petition by Dweikat, his family, and the radical left-wing organization HaMoked, demanding that the IDF not demolish the terrorist’s house.

The decision was by a majority opinion with Justice Menachem “Meni” Mazuz dissenting.

“We were horrified to hear Justice Mazuz relate to murder victims as a statistic. He stated that statistics had gone down and so perhaps there is no need to take steps for deterrence, as if when there are fewer murder victims the situation is less terrible,” said the Ohayon family attorney, Chayim Bleicher of Honenu.

“The time has come to stop abandoning Israel’s deterrence factors and to start decisively fighting terror, and to put an end to it. In the name of the families and in the name of the People of Israel, we demand, ‘Stop the terror, create deterrence factors, and stop searching for every possible way to weaken the State of Israel!” Bleicher said.

When the High Court heard the petition on October 12, Ohayon said, “We hope and want to believe that justice will be done in order to prevent the next murderer from leaving his house, taking a life, and destroying an entire family.”

“It is the moral and ethical duty of the State of Israel to provide for the security of its citizens,” she said.

Rabbi Ohayon was stabbed to death on the afternoon of August 26 on a street in Petach Tikva. He was walking home to his wife and four young children.