Haim Smadar
Encyclopedia
Haim Smadar was an Israeli
security guard who was killed while preventing a female suicide bomber from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from entering a supermarket in the Kiryat Yovel
neighborhood of Jerusalem on March 29, 2002.
. He immigrated
to Israel as a child. Smadar was married to Shoshana with whom he had five children, two of whom are deaf. He also has a son, Alon, from his first marriage. Smadar worked a guard at a school for autistic children. He took the temporary security job at the Shufersal
supermarket to make extra money for the upcoming Passover
holiday while school was closed. Haim Smadar was buried in Jerusalem.
women who usually sold vegetables outside the shop entrance were told by Akhras to leave. Smadar prevented Akhras from going past the entrance of the market, saying to her “You will not enter the market. You and I will blow up here.” Akhras then detonated the bomb. Smadar was killed together with an American born teenager, 17-year old Rachel Levy
. 28 people were injured in the attack.
Jerusalem police estimated that by preventing the suicide bomber entry deeper into the market, Smadar saved scores of lives."It is so characteristic of him that he was the one to block the terrorist from entering the supermarket," said one of the parents of a child from the school at which he worked. His widow remembered him saying: "Shoshana, if a suicide bomber ever comes close to my school, he will not get past me. With my own body I would stop him."
In a prerecorded video, Ayat Akhras said she was sacrificing herself for the al-Aqsa mosque. Her father declared that he was proud of her.After her death, it was rumored that she had been pregnant out of wedlock and preferred to die for a political cause rather than be murdered by relatives in an honor killing
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
security guard who was killed while preventing a female suicide bomber from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades from entering a supermarket in the Kiryat Yovel
Kiryat Yovel
Kiryat HaYovel is a neighborhood in southwestern Jerusalem on Mount Herzl. It was built in the early 1950s to house new immigrants...
neighborhood of Jerusalem on March 29, 2002.
Biography
Haim Smadar was born in TunisTunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. He immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel as a child. Smadar was married to Shoshana with whom he had five children, two of whom are deaf. He also has a son, Alon, from his first marriage. Smadar worked a guard at a school for autistic children. He took the temporary security job at the Shufersal
Shufersal
Shufersal , commonly known as Super-Sal, is the largest supermarket chain in Israel. In 2009, Shufersal had 240 stores and 10,000 employees. Shufersal stock is traded on the Tel Aviv stock market and appears on the Tel Aviv 100 index.-History:...
supermarket to make extra money for the upcoming Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
holiday while school was closed. Haim Smadar was buried in Jerusalem.
Incident
On Friday afternoon, around 1:50 PM, a female Palestinian suicide bomber, Ayat Akhras, approached the supermarket entrance. Smadar, who spoke Arabic, became suspicious after two ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
women who usually sold vegetables outside the shop entrance were told by Akhras to leave. Smadar prevented Akhras from going past the entrance of the market, saying to her “You will not enter the market. You and I will blow up here.” Akhras then detonated the bomb. Smadar was killed together with an American born teenager, 17-year old Rachel Levy
Rachel Levy
Rachel Levy was killed at age 17 on March 29, 2002 when Ayat al-Akhras, a teenage Palestinian female suicide bomber, wearing a belt of explosives around her waist, blew herself up at the entrance to a supermarket in Jerusalem's Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood on March 29, 2002...
. 28 people were injured in the attack.
Jerusalem police estimated that by preventing the suicide bomber entry deeper into the market, Smadar saved scores of lives."It is so characteristic of him that he was the one to block the terrorist from entering the supermarket," said one of the parents of a child from the school at which he worked. His widow remembered him saying: "Shoshana, if a suicide bomber ever comes close to my school, he will not get past me. With my own body I would stop him."
In a prerecorded video, Ayat Akhras said she was sacrificing herself for the al-Aqsa mosque. Her father declared that he was proud of her.After her death, it was rumored that she had been pregnant out of wedlock and preferred to die for a political cause rather than be murdered by relatives in an honor killing
Honor killing
An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community...
.