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Israeli Druze Policeman, Sergeant Major Zidan Seif, who was shot when he intervened to stop the massacre at the Kehillat Yaakov synagogue in Har Nof, has died of his wounds.
Thousands were in attendance at his funeral, including leaders of the Druze, Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, as well as President Reuven Rivlin, Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonvich (Yisrael Beytenu), and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino.
President Rivlin, who in recent weeks took center stage denouncing racism in Israeli society and urging tolerance, equality and coexistence, addressed the Seif family, noting that Zidan acted out of a deep sense of human values. Terror does not distinguish between peopleYour son did not hesitate or waver . . . He stood fearlessly against the terrorists and risked his life to protect the people of Jerusalem, Rivlin said. He acted according to the values he was raised with – courage, heroism, and self-sacrifice.”
Sheikh Moafaq Tarif urged the president and internal security minister to calm tensions. “You must do everything to reduce the flames in the holy city. Both of our people are paying a heavy price in the blood of our sons. We must not let incitement and extremism prevail over common sense and tolerance.
MK Eli Yishai (Shas) also spoke at the funeral: “The heart of the entire Jewish people is with your family, and your name is engraved on our hearts forever.”
Thousands of people from Haredi sector responded to calls from Har Nof rabbinical leadership as well as on social media to accompany Master Sergeant Zidan Seif on his final journey: ‘We won’t be ungrateful, we will show out gratitude to those who sacrificed our lives for us’, calling him ‘Righteous Among the Nations’. Lt. Col. (res.) Erez Eshel offered to pay for as many buses as they could organize to bring mourners to the funeral. “The most important thing at this time is unity between the citizens of Israel,” he said. Risha Segal , a haredi student and activist, was one of the people who started this online initiative saying: “All of Israel can come to the funeral. Death unites us and this is a call against racism.
Seif, one of the first two policemen to arrive at the scene to confront the two terrorists, left behind a wife, a four-months-old baby, parents and five siblings.
Read more in Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Tablet Magazine, Israel National News, Y Net, Times of Israel, Jewish Press
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