Massacre at the Mercaz Harav in , 6.3.08 NewsZAKA No. 3 1 March 2008 SLAUGHTERED WHILE LEARNING GEMARA * Horrific scenes in the Mercaz Harav library * Zaka volunteers among the first to reach the scene * Yehuda Meshi-Zahav: "It looked like a slaughterhouse" * Avi Katz: "This is the worst I have seen"

Even the most experienced and hardened ZAKA volunteers Dear Friends and Supporters, could barely cope with the After the tragic and horrifying events of last week's terrorist attack difficult and harrowing scenes of on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, in which 8 students 8 young yeshiva students lying were killed and ten wounded, we decided to publish this special in rivers of blood on the floor, edition of the monthly ZAKA News. surrounded by bullet-riddled The contents of this newsletter are shocking. The pictures are holy books and blood-soaked disturbing. The eye-witness accounts from ZAKA volunteers at the tzitzit (ritual fringes). 8 students, site make horrifying reading. But it is important that you know and all but one aged between 15-18, understand the scope of this tragedy and the brutal evil of this were murdered and 10 injured attack. Many of you may not have seen these pictures in the local by a Palestinian terrorist at the media. I urge you to forward this e-newsletter to family and Mercaz Harav yeshiva library on friends, so that the true picture of Palestinian terror is plain to see. Thursday evening (6 March The ZAKA volunteers are still traumatised by their work that 2008). Thursday evening, but, with your support, they will continue to Unable to deal with the answer every call for help, whenever and wherever it comes. emotional trauma and the Yehuda Meshi Zahav, C.E.O.

Continued on Page 3 David Zilbershlag, Chairman of The Management Board NewsZAKA No. 3 2 March 2008 SLAUGHTERED WHILE LEARNING GEMARA / Continued from Page 2

difficult scene that recalled the identification purposes. The The first report of shooting at massacre of 67 yeshiva boys' hands, prayer books and the Mercaz Harav yeshiva came students in 1929, the ZAKA Gemaras were riddled with into the ZAKA hotline at 20:45 volunteers took turns in working bullet holes, a clear sign that on Thursday evening. After at the terror scene, cleaning the they had tried to defend several minutes, it became clear huge pools of blood on the floor, themselves with their bare hands. that this was a mass casualty scattered all over the library and Bullet marks on the floor and in incident, the like of which the holy books. the victims' heads confirmed that had not seen in four years. Tens The ZAKA volunteers were the terrorist had "confirmed the of local ZAKA volunteers from in tears as they held up the hands kill" by shooting the students as the Rapid Response Motorcycle of the victims for the forensic they lay wounded on the library teams to take fingerprints for floor. Continued on Page 4

NewsZAKA No. 3 3 March 2008 SLAUGHTERED WHILE LEARNING GEMARA / Continued from Page 3

Unit arrived at the yeshiva while the terrorist's body. There was a yeshiva amid scenes of the terror attack was still raging. moment of panic and fear among terrible grief and anguish. Body ZAKA Chairman Yehuda the rescue services. It took a after body was then taken into a Meshi-Zahav was one of the first while for those boys who had separate room for each family to to enter the library: "I arrived to hidden themselves to believe that identify their own child. the sound of gunfire from inside the nightmare was over and they Jerusalem police and ZAKA the building and saw yeshiva could come out of their hiding volunteers cried together as they boys, many injured, running out places. After half an hour, we witnessed these tragic scenes, of the building, shouting even found one injured boy, shot offering mutual support as they 'Terrorists! Wounded! At that in the chest, who had been carried out their sacred work time, no one really knew what hiding in the basement, too throughout the night. When the was going on. At a certain stage, scared to come out, despite his identification process was the shooting stopped and we wounds". complete, ZAKA ambulances went in. The experienced ZAKA took the bodies away for "At the entrance to the volunteers set up a control center preparation for burial, returning building, I saw the bodies of two in the yeshiva courtyard, led by them the next day to the yeshiva yeshiva boys. I carried on to the Haim Weingarten and Eliyahu for the ceremony and subsequent library. That first sight was Brand who split the volunteers funerals. horrific and shocking and I into teams, sending them in to immediately thought of the the library one after the other to Hebron massacre. It looked like ensure that the men took a break a slaughterhouse. Everything from the difficult, emotional was upside down, there were work. ZAKA volunteer Avi injured and dead on the floor, Katz: "This is the worst thing I Published by: holy books covered in blood, and have ever seen." ZAKA – Search & Rescue the terrible cries of the injured. The eight bodies were moved 234 Jaffo St. "Then someone shouted that into a separate area where they P.O.Box 36060, Jerusalem 91360 there was an explosive belt on were initially identified by the Tel: 972-2-5015120 The victims, may their memory be blessed: Fax: 972-2-5015121

• Segev Pniel Avihail, • Yohai Lifshitz, Website: www.zaka.org.il 15, of 18, of Jerusalem E-mail: [email protected] • Neria Cohen,15, of Jerusalem • Doron Tronoh Maharata, Editor: Lydia Weitzman • Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 26, of Design: Oizer Zilberschlag 16, of Shilo • Avraham David Moses, • Yonadav Haim Hirshfeld, 16, of To subscribe: [email protected] 19, of Kohav Hashahar • Ro'i Rot, 18, of To donate: http://www.zaka.org.il/don G-d will avenge their blood. ations_e.php

NewsZAKA No. 3 4 March 2008

Other photos from the scene of the massacre Photos: S. Meshi, ZAKA

NewsZAKA No. 3 5 March 2008

The arsenal of weapons used by the terrorist, including the ammunitions belt that was initially mistaken for an explosive belt.

The blood-soaked tzitzit of the victims NewsZAKA No. 3 6 March 2008