Yom HaZikaron 5779/2019 'Ari Was A Hero In Life And In Death'

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 05/08/19 | News Source: Arutz-7

Eitan Fuld, brother of Ari Fuld who was murdered eight months ago in a terror attack in Gush Etzion, told Arutz Sheva about his feelings as the family marks Memorial Day for the first time as a bereaved family.

"There are certain feelings but they are not different than what I feel on other days. I woke up this morning thinking about where routine meets Memorial Day, what is between a normal day, where my brother is very present, and Memorial Day, which is a more general day and on which Ari is a public loss,” explained Fuld.

"Many times the thought of hindsight intensifies the loss. In Ari's case, it is not true. We felt Ari's strength when he was alive. Ari knew what he lived for and he lived every moment of his life with a sense of mission that accompanied him. I do not know whether it is true that it is important for us to remember him as a hero or whether reality dictated him as a hero in his life and death."

"The stories about Ari started coming on the first day of Shiva and continue to this day," continued Fuld. “I was aware of Ari’s mission, but the special thing was that Ari managed to touch so many people. There are endless stories of heroism that comes not by force, but a heroism of clarity with the goal of bringing good to this world. People changed their way after meeting with Ari. A soldier in uniform arrived at the Shiva and said that he made Aliyah and enlisted in the IDF because of an encounter with Ari. We hear stories from all corners of the world, from Africa, the Arab countries, and the US - stories with lots of strengths."

Eitan said that not a day goes by that he does not miss Ari. "Ari follows me every day. The ability to be gentle and sharp at the same time, this is an extraordinary ability that my brother carried and which I am taking with me. I believe that more people are following in Ari's footsteps. Just this past Shabbat we celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of Ari's son, Natan. There was joy mixed with sadness, but you could see a family that knows what they are living for, a family with an upright truth that Ari imparted to each of his children."

Fuld discussed the joint Arab-Jewish memorial ceremony that was held in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening. "There is good and evil in the world. There are people who seek peace and there are people who murder us. Had Ari been alive, he would protest against this. I, as a member of a bereaved family, must come out with an unequivocal statement that there is no room for such a ceremony."

"There is no better person to represent the transition between Memorial Day and Independence Day than Ari Fuld. Ari lived his life knowing that we are in the right place and doing the right thing and living here for great goals. Ari represented this in his life and, after his death, we can only try and continue what he was," concluded Eitan.