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Terror victim laid to rest in Samaria

Adiel Kolman, killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, was buried Monday in his village of Kochav Hashachar.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Adiel Kolman, the 32-year-old father of four who was stabbed to death on a street in the Old City of Jerusalem by a Palestinian terrorist, was brought to rest Monday in the cemetery of his Benyamin region village, Kochav Hashachar.

Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their last respects, including Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau, who eulogized Kolman’s “gentle personality that spoke with kindness, but also determination, firmly, in a clear manner, knowing exactly what he wanted.”

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) declared that the answer to terror is building the land. “Our revenge is settlement, and I hope that we will succeed in building up Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria…. This land is ours, we received it from God,” he said.

A long-time friend of Kolman, Mordechai Schwartz, confirmed the appropriateness of Ariel’s remarks when describing Kolman in a radio interview as one who had “a very close connection to the Land of Israel” who had grown up in the Golan Heights village Keshet, where “he knew every spring and swimming hole.”

He added that Kolman had recently been studying for a degree in early childhood education, “something that spoke deeply to his personality as a person who was all about giving,” he said. “Adiel always knew everyone and found the way to talk to them and connect to their hearts. I don’t ever remember him angry and I don’t think anyone could say a bad word about him.”

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Kolman’s special personality and love of Israel was a recurrent theme of those who eulogized him.

“I was astounded by the outpouring of love and was amazed that through the intense sadness, his family and friends spoke about the joy Adiel brought to the world. All of the speakers commented that the proper response to this tragedy is to build vibrant Jewish communities, especially in Judea and Samaria,” said Kochav Hashachar resident Ebin Sandler of World Israel News.

Kolman is survived by his parents and six siblings, one of whom is doing his army service and another who is getting married next month. His mother, Yael, said during a radio interview on 103FM Monday that she told her family before the funeral that despite the pain, they were going to make the conscious decision to “choose life.”

President Reuven Rivlin also issued a statement after Kolman succumbed to his injuries, stating, “Four more children lost their father last night. For the bereaved the pain is unbearable. Thirty-two year old Adiel Kolman, who worked with dedication in the City of David excavations, was murdered yesterday in the Old City, in a brutal and abhorrent stabbing terror attack. The terror on the streets of Jerusalem, our capital, where Jews and Arabs have lived together for hundreds of years, is a great disaster for all its inhabitants, and we will not allow it to become an existing reality. We will fight against terror and we will overcome.”