The levayah for infant Ravid Chaim Gez, who passed away two weeks after his mother, Tze’ela, was killed in a terror attack near the town of Bruchin, is taking place today at the Har Hamenuchos cemetery in Yerushalayim.
Chananel Gez, who lost both his wife and son and was himself injured in the shooting, stood at his son’s graveside and spoke through deep pain. “My dear Ravid Chaim, I stand here with a heart broken twice. What can one say? There is nothing to say. I was privileged to see Ravid Chaim yesterday in the NICU—he was so sweet. He opened his eyes for a few seconds, and he looked like an angel.”
In a heartrending moment during the funeral, Chananel turned his grief into an impassioned plea, addressing the prime minister directly: “Prime Minister, I am speaking to you now. Where are you? I asked you to come to the NICU and see Ravid Chaim, to look into his eyes. Tomorrow, will there be another attack? Another family like mine? Has this become normal? Is this our reality now? We live in an upside-down world—we show mercy to the terrorists who murder us. You have time to listen to the whole world but not to the people who elected you.”
Ravid Chaim’s aunt, Shaked—Tze’ela’s sister—delivered a tearful eulogy. “Our Ravid, such a beautiful child. From the moment I first saw you, you captured my heart. We waited so long for you, your mother waited so long for you. Usually, a baby is born to a mother who wraps him in love and hugs—but you didn’t get that. She wasn’t there beside you, to kiss you, to hold you.”
With her voice breaking, she added: “Now your mother is waiting for you up above. Now you’ll be protected and loved in a world that is all good. Send our love to Mommy, tell her we’re sorry. I can’t believe I held you lifeless in my arms. No more burials, no more death, no more heartbreak. Please watch over us—both of you,” she said.
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, addressed the mourners as well. He called on Israel’s leadership and defense establishment to confront the underlying threats that lead to tragedies like this, urging comprehensive action to prevent further bloodshed.
He began his remarks with a somber reflection: “Dear Raviv Chaim, you never saw the light of day, never received a warm embrace from your loving mother. All of Israel accompanies you today to your resting place beside your mother, Tze’ela, of blessed memory. You are not only the holy child of your parents, Tze’ela and Chanan’el—you will forever be the holy child of the entire Jewish people.”
Dagan spoke on behalf of a grieving nation. “We’ve come to ask your forgiveness, Ravid Chaim, and that of your mother, for our failure as a community, a state, a nation to prevent this tragedy—for the fact that in the State of Israel, a woman on her way to give birth can be murdered with her unborn child.”
He shared that Chananel had asked for two things in the wake of his loss: “First, to cry out that this cannot be resolved by only targeting the terrorists or even their village. There must be a complete overhaul to ensure this is the last time. And second, to strengthen and expand the settlements, to ensure the terrorists do not win. Even at this most painful time, Chananel is thinking about the nation of Israel. What a contrast between our people and the barbaric enemies who seek to destroy us.”
Dagan called for decisive measures. “This is a cry from every citizen of Israel and every decent human being worldwide. We demand that the government abandon surgical, symbolic responses and prioritize our citizens’ lives over the comfort of our enemies. It is time for a full ground operation, to destroy illegal buildings that threaten families like the Gez family. Above all, we demand that the government uproot terrorism completely, to make it no longer worthwhile to murder Jews in Israel.”
Turning back to the grieving family, Dagan pledged: “We will deepen our roots in this land. We will build a new community in your name. Your light will not be extinguished—it will shine even brighter through our love, our settlement, our goodness. Because we choose light while our enemies choose darkness. We choose life—they choose death.”
He concluded his emotional remarks with a prayerful appeal: “Raviv Chaim, the holy infant, you now join your holy mother Tze’ela, may God avenge her blood. We ask you both to cry out before the heavenly throne, to pray for Chanan’el, for your siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, for the community of Bruchin, for Samaria, for the IDF soldiers, the hostages, and all of Israel. Pray that our suffering ends and that your family finds the strength to go on. We promise to always embrace them—and that the light will always triumph over the darkness,” Dagan concluded.
{Matzav.com Israel}
