‘Killers could be freed,’ laments teen victim’s grandmother, a Holocaust survivor

“But I don’t want to talk about the murderers. It is important that Dvir’s memory remains with us,” said 81-year-old Esther Schlesinger, a Holocaust survivor.

By World Israel News Staff

Though the Israeli military has strict guidelines on what is considered self-defense and when it’s permissible to shoot and kill a terrorist, there is a feeling among some in Israel, including family members of the victims, that capturing instead of killing a terrorist ultimately will mean that the terrorist will somehow find himself back on the street, through a prisoner swap or some other means.

Such a sentiment was expressed by the father of Dvir Sorek, the yeshiva student killed last week in a terror stabbing in Judea, and now by the dead teen’s grandmother, Esther Schlesinger, in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth.

“I would have been happier if they wouldn’t have been captured alive, but rather killed, because unfortunately, this capture is only temporary. They could, God-forbid, eventually be freed,” the 81-year-old Holocaust survivor told the daily, referring to her grandson’s killers.

“But I don’t want to talk about the murderers. It is important that Dvir’s memory remains with us,” she says.

“We are grateful to the security forces for their swift action in catching the terrorists, though we are disappointed they were captured alive,” said Dvir’s father, Yoav Sorek, following Saturday’s announcement that the alleged killers had been captured.

“We are glad that Dvir, may God avenge his blood, didn’t see the faces of his killers, and we will try not to see them either, not now and not in court,” the father added.

Dvir’s body was found early Thursday morning near Migdal Oz, where he had been studying in a yeshiva as part of a program that combines religious studies with military service.

On Sunday night, IDF soldiers surveyed the homes of two Arabs suspected in the killing in order to lay the groundwork for the demolition of the homes.

The two suspects have been identified as cousins Nasir Asafra, 24, and Qassem Asafra, 30.