Slain Commando’s Son Berates Bennett: ‘I Blame You Like I Blame Terrorist, You Wasted Your Opportunity’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — For the first time in the recent terror wave, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett paid a personal condolence visit to the shiva of Noam Raz, the senior commando killed in a firefight with terrorists near Jenin Friday.

Bennett, who has been severely criticized for not attending the funerals or the shiva of the recent terror victims, arrived in the Samarian community of Kidah to offer condolences to Raz’s family but they harshly criticized him for his current policies.

Raz’s oldest son said to Bennett: “I don’t know how you can look at yourself in the mirror. I blame you just as I blame the terrorist. You wasted your opportunity. We want to see someone we can believe in. You don’t deserve to to be in the house my father lived in.”

The youth added, “Don’t make us any promises, from past experience none of them are kept. Stop abandoning police and soldiers. You have emasculated them, police are stoned and don’t shoot in response.”

Noam’s widow Efrat demanded that Bennett respond to the question of what he has done in his current position to stop terror. “Be loyal to the truth, look yourself in the eyes. Your intention is true but your actions are not acceptable. There is still time to change as long as you are in this capacity. When you are disloyal to the reason for which you were elected, you won’t last. We’ve had enough of being humiliated, its time to give some power to the nation.”

Noam’s sister said she had hoped that Bennett would not come to offer condolences. “We are lacking Jewish pride in our daily lives. I can’t travel and fly a flag. I’m even scared to travel from my home and back, but I still do it. There is no Jewish pride here, we used to have pride in the prime minister.”

Residents of the small community near Shilo demonstrated against the prime minister during the course of his visit. The community numbers some 100 families and has been dubbed “officers hill” due to the high proportion of army officers and senior military staff living there in the community’s early years. Currently, the community boasts seven senior army officers and seven high-ranking reserve officers.

Noam Raz HyD was seriously injured when hit in the back Friday and died of his injuries. He left a wife and six children. Raz had served for 23 years in the commando unit as a soldier, paramedic, sapper and sniper. In civilian life he also volunteered for United Hatzalah. Raz participated in hundreds of anti-terror operations and saved many lives. A Shin Bet announcement mourned him as a “courageous, professional and humble fighter.”