Hundreds of people visited the Druze villages of Hurfeish and Maghar Wednesday to pay their condolences to the families of the two police officers murdered in last Friday's terrorist attack on the Temple Mount.
Among the visitors were Israelis who lost loved ones to terrorism. The visits were arranged by the OneFamily organization, which assists bereaved families and victims of terrorism.
OneFamily said in a statement published on their Facebook page that the purpose of the visits was to "let their families feel that they are not alone."
Dozens of Israelis, Jews and non-Jews alike, answered the organization's call and bordered the buses to visit the families of Command Sergeant Major Hayil Satawi and Command Sergeant Major Kamil Shanaan.
Among the visitors who paid their condolences to the families was Hadas Mizrachi, the widow of Baruch Mizrahi, a resident of Modi'in who was killed in a shooting attack two years ago while traveling with his family to celebrate the Passover Seder.
Mizrachi was joined by Deborah Gonen, the mother of Danny Gonen of Lod, who was murdered in a shooting attack in the Binyamin region two years ago.
Following the visit, Mizrachi said: "Unfortunately, we remember that the people who came to visit after the attack gave us a lot of strength, and since my tragedy, I have been visiting families who have become part of the cycle of bereavement. I visited dozens of bereaved families after Baruch was murdered, and I saw with my own eyes how important it is and how much it helps. The support of people who have undergone a similar tragedy is necessary in dealing with loss."
"I recently visited the family of Hadas Malka, the policewoman who was murdered at the Damascus Gate ... As a police widow, I see it as my mission to empower others, and if I managed to get up and continue going on with five children who experienced the attack themselves after my loss, that that is proof that you cannot give up.
Chantal Belzberg, the director of the OneFamily organization, said: "Today we sent a message to the families of the policemen who were murdered in the terror attack on the Temple Mount last Friday - you are not alone. The State of Israel lost two dedicated policemen from the best of its sons, who served in the Old City of our capital in order to preserve the security of the State of Israel. We arrived today to console and strengthen the Satawi family and the Shanaan family, who unfortunately joined the list of bereaved families."
W"e were joined by tourists from the United States and England, together with the residents of Jerusalem, and Dvora Gonen, the mother of Danny, who was murdered in the attack two years ago, to embrace and share their sorrow and to express the deep connection between the Jewish people in the Diaspora and the Druze. We want to strengthen our alliance with the Druze and to turn this from a bloodbath into a covenant of life," she added.