Posts like this rupture my heart and my soul. Why, for G-d’s sake were these people defenseless? Why? Why? Why? Israel’s draconian gun laws are allowing for the deaths of Jews. This story should make us so angry that Israel is forced to change the laws allowing for Israeli citizens to defend themselves. So instead of reading heart-wrenching stories about dead Jews, we are reading stories of Jews who defended themselves against the barbarians and those barbarians have gone to their Allah.
Yes, it was the ultimate in selfless sacrifices. I want to know why this Jew had to make that sacrifice. Why does the Israeli government make it virtually impossible for an Israeli citizen to defend themselves and their loved ones? Why didn’t the kibbutz have armed security? What is it about us that we keep having to share stories of Jews who needlessly were forced to give up their lives? I want an answer. I know you can’t do that but the Israeli government must explain this.
Make this the very last time we share stories like this.
Shlomo Ron, ZT”L
1. Shlomo Ron was not armed. Shlomo Ron was not part of some elite military unit. He was an elderly man. Somewhat frail, he was a gentle man. Shlomo loved the theatre, music, and books. He loved Hannah, his wife, with whom he had lived for many years. He loved his daughters and adored his little grandson.
2. Among other things, he also loved the poetry of Rachel Bluwstein, and the works of Naomi Shemer. He loved art.
3. Shlomo and Hannah lived in Nahal Oz. They had never left the place. Even during truly frightening times, there they stayed. There they lived. There they chose to live, and it was there that they were on the morning of October 7, 2023.”
4. Their daughters were in their home. Their beloved grandson was in their home. A joyous celebration of Simchat Torah. Almost the end of the Sukkot holiday. They probably had a nice time together.
5. Mass murderers attacked their kibbutz. Criminals against humanity. There was no defence against them. The kibbutz fell. The border was breached. The army was not there. Nor was the border patrol. They were left alone, facing well-armed, skilled, and well-prepared war criminals.
6. Shlomo was not armed. He was not in an elite military unit. He was not a general in the army. He was an elderly man with a beard and glasses. He was somewhat frail. He had a gentle soul. He loved the theatre, music, and art.
7. He left the reinforced room where his beloved Hannah, their daughters, and their little beloved grandson were hiding.
8. He sat in the living room of his home. He sat there alone. He waited for the murderers. And they did arrive.
9. When the murderers saw him sitting alone in his living room, they shot him to death. They saw an elderly and somewhat frail man sitting in a chair alone. And they took him out to kill him. An elderly man, a lonely soul, they thought. There is no reason to stay here any longer, they thought. So, the murderers left the house and continued on their way.
10. That was Shlomo’s plan: to wait for the war criminals alone in the living room. So they would think he was an elderly, solitary man. Alone. He knew they would kill him. He hoped that after they killed him, they would move on. He hoped they would think he lived in the house alone.
11. Shlomo Ron saved the lives of his beloved Hannah. He saved the lives of his daughters, and his beloved little grandson. They all survived, sitting quietly in the reinforced room. They all survived thanks to Shlomo.
12. Shlomo Ron was buried in Kibbutz Kinneret. He was buried next to Rachel Bluwstein, the poet, and Naomi Shemer. He is dead now.
13. Shlomo Ron was not armed. He was not in an elite military unit. He was not a skilled fighter, or an expert in martial arts. Shlomo was simply an elderly, somewhat frail Israeli man with a gentle smile and kind eyes, who loved his wife, his daughters, and his little grandson.
14. Shlomo Ron was a gentle man, not a man of notable physical strength. He was unarmed. He had no combat training. He was simply an elderly man with a beard and glasses. Just a soft-hearted Israeli with kind eyes who loved his wife, his daughters, and his little grandson.
But Shlomo Ron is a hero of Israel.
http://ottawa.mfa.gov.il/
