Israel lost its lion last year. World Jewry, including South Africa, mourned on 16 September and everyday thereafter. The day that Ari Fuld, a 45-year-old American-born Israeli, was murdered by a 16-year-old Palestinian terrorist, Khalil Jabarin, in Gush Etzion. With his dying breath, after sustaining mortal stab wounds, the Lion drew his weapon, scaled a fence in pursuit of his attacker, and shot the terrorist to prevent him from causing further harm and destruction and catching the woman he was chasing down the street. Ari saved her life and the lives of who knows how many others. As heroic in death as he was in life, Ari was awarded the medal of distinction \u2013 the third highest award given by the police \u2013 posthumously, by the Israel Police for successfully neutralising the terrorist.<\/p>\n
Hila Peretz, the mall employee whose life Ari saved, came to the Fulds during the shiva period. \u201cI felt a deep kinship there. She put up a sign in front of her store thanking Ari Fuld, her hero, for saving her life,\u201d relates Mary Fuld, Ari\u2019s mother. A life changed irrevocably by the gentle giant of a man that was Ari Fuld. A father of four children, Ari was a family man, deeply loved and respected by his family and friends, and even those who disagreed with him. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I will go on without you,\u201d his widow, Miriam, said at the midnight funeral held in the Kfar Etzion Settlement in the West Bank. \u201cMy big bro is gone\u2026just looking for oxygen now,\u201d tweeted his brother Hillel Fuld on his death. \u201cAri didn\u2019t want to leave this world,\u201d said his mother, Mary, to a group at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.<\/p>\n
He was a man who loved his life, his family, his country, his Torah. \u201cBut, if he had to write a scenario for how he left this world, this would have been it,\u201d she says. \u201cAri \u2013 protecting Jewish lives and the land of Israel with his very last breath,\u201d says Hillel. This was his ultimate goal; one that he lived, and died for. \u201cAri lived a hero. He dedicated his life to defending, promoting, and protecting Israel \u2013 both online and offline,\u201d says Hillel. Ari was particularly vocal on his popular blog Sword of Israel<\/em>. All of this, says Hillel, as he continued to volunteer for the IDF throughout his life \u2013 from a very young age to the very last day of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he got his exemption papers from the IDF at 40 years old, he ripped them up, and continued to volunteer.\u201d There was no stopping him. He was online day or night, no matter the time, defending Israel, says Hillel. He was an activist for Israel in every sense of the word. The grandson of Holocaust survivors on both sides of his parents, Ari lived for Israel. \u201cWe are a product of our experience,\u201d explains Ari\u2019s mother. \u201cIn Auschwitz, my mother was separated from her cousin, Ava, into two separate lines, and in the midst of the guns, the shouting, and dogs, my mother grabbed her cousin out of her line and put her in line with her and, in doing so, saved her life. After the war, having lost so much, she picked herself up and said, \u2018G-d saved me for a reason.\u2019\u201d She came to Israel and had a family of her own \u2013 she was Ari\u2019s role model, his hero. \u201cAt my mother\u2019s funeral, Ari stood up and said: Grandma, you are my hero.\u201d The experience of his grandparents impacted on Ari deeply, says Mary. \u201cHe came from a very Zionistic household, as we did.\u201d<\/p>\n Ari came to Israel at 18 years old to study for his gap year, and he wanted to enlist in the army, as did his older brother. \u201cAs a mother, you could imagine, I was reluctant. But, if you plant a seed and the flower grows, you can\u2019t pluck the flower and stamp on it and say I didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d So he became a member of the army as a volunteer. His good friend from Canada who served with him, Yehoshua Friedberg, was abducted and killed, says Mary, and \u201cthis affected him tremendously\u201d. From that moment, Ari made it his life\u2019s work to commemorate his memory, and defend and commit himself to Israel.<\/p>\n Ari is remembered by his fellow soldiers as always being the \u201cRambo\u201d in his unit, carrying the heavy artillery gun, all gung-ho on every mission, says his mother. \u201cEveryone always wanted to be with Ari on every mission \u2013 this tall, strong, iron man Ari,\u201d says Mary. Ari held a fourth degree black belt in Tora Dojo \u2013 a rank in the martial art that is neither easy to achieve nor commonplace. He dedicated himself to working for Standing Together, an organisation in support of the IDF soldiers, which looks to give an opportunity worldwide to show appreciation to the Israel Defense Forces, to those who risk their lives every day for the safety of the people, visitors, and holy places of Israel. He took his passion further, traveling internationally, speaking to crowds about Israel, spreading the truth, and dispelling the myths. \u201cHe was very dedicated to everything. He had a fire burning inside of him,\u201d a fire that propelled him to express his deep need to \u201csay his truth\u201d.<\/p>\n And it was a need that effected the world, with a following of supporters and friends worldwide in his life, and even more so in his death. One such person is 18-year-old South African Calev Freeman, who has been learning in Yeshiva in Israel for two years. \u201cAs a bochur in Eretz Yisroel, whenever I hear the shocking news of a terror attack, I feel it deeply. At the time of Ari Fuld\u2019s death, I was in South Africa for Bein Hazmanim (semester break). When I heard his daughter, Tamar, talking about her father at his funeral, I was moved. It had a profound impact on me.\u201d Tamar related how Ari had given her profound life advice. \u201cWe know that life is full of tests. If life is easy, you are living it wrong,\u201d Ari had told her. \u201cHis greatness was evident in her words,\u201d says Calev, and he knew immediately that he wanted to write a song dedicated to Ari \u201cwith the intention of giving some small level of nechama (comfort) to the family\u201d. Calev, like so many others around the world, felt the need to do something positive to show that, as Jews, we support one another when times are really difficult, and this is where our power lies. \u201cTo respond to such an act of hate with unity and love\u201d that is uniquely Jewish.<\/p>\n Music has always been a large part of Calev\u2019s life, having taught himself to play piano and guitar. \u201cI enjoy composing music and writing songs; I find it a very powerful form of self-expression.\u201d He has had some \u201cgreat opportunities\u201d in his musical career, including singing with Dovid Gabay together with his brother Tuvia; performing at the Dirshu launch; as well as appearing on Israel radio with Reuvain Garber from Derech Achim. Calev also composes and sells songs to other singers and sings at Chuppahs, and he recently wrote and recorded a song for an American camp \u2013 Camp Shai \u2013 for special needs children, together with his friend Shimi Mirkin.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel music is an avenue for bringing joy, connection, and enhancing Avodas Hashem.\u201d So Calev took his expertise and love for music and produced a live recording of an original song for the Fuld family, where he quotes Tamar and her message back to her father, Ari, and first sent it to Hillel after which it reached the Fuld family via Facebook. \u201cThe song was very positively received with many beautiful responses locally and worldwide.\u201d But the two responses that Calev \u201ctreasures\u00a0the most\u201d were from Ari\u2019s parents, Yonah and Mary, and Hillel, who expressed deep gratitude \u201cfor the beautiful song and for remembering our son and brother this way\u201d. The video was disseminated to many media outlets and social media sites. Arutz Sheva and Kikkar Shabbos, two big news stations in Israel, also picked up on it. Calev spoke to the part in all of us that mourned for Ari as well, and it resonated around the world, with Calev receiving feedback and comments from people all over.<\/p>\n \u201cI never knew of Ari Fuld then, but have subsequently learned of the enormous impact he made on Jews throughout the world.\u201d Calev is inspired by Ari\u2019s pro-active nature \u2013 \u201cnot sitting back and waiting for others to do\u201d. \u201cI admire the fact that he stood up for his beliefs. He would give shiurim (Torah classes) to increase the awareness of Hashem and his Torah and had a true love for Eretz Yisroel. He was a man of integrity and courage.\u201d Ari is famously quoted as saying, \u201cI\u2019m always on call\u201d when it comes down to the wire for Israel. He was an activist for Israel, telling the real story, and inspiring so many others along the way, in both his life and his death.<\/p>\n May his memory be a blessing.<\/p>\n Listen to Calev\u2019s song:
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