The image of a United Hatzalah volunteer who was killed during Operation Rising Lions was defaced on a rescue vehicle in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet, the neighborhood where she lost her life.
Ronit Elimelech Hy”d was killed alongside her mother and seven others when an Iranian missile struck a shul in the neighborhood during the operation.
Her portrait, displayed on a United Hatzalah emergency vehicle, was vandalized by an individual described by local residents as an extremist.
“It’s a portrait on a rescue vehicle, not a private picture for someone to deface,” her brother, Tomer, told Ynet.
He said the incident was particularly painful because their mother had sponsored a sefer Torah l’ilui nishmas her parents — a sefer Torah that is used in the same neighborhood where the vandalism took place.
In an emotional statement, Tomer addressed the vandal directly: “You succeeded — I hate you. Without reason, without anything, you did this. I wonder what you would do if it were reversed. You managed to create sinas chinam. You don’t deserve the Torah.”
A Ramat Beit Shemesh resident said the United Hatzalah driver who witnessed the defacement “was in shock and drove away.” The resident noted that the driver responds to medical emergencies in the neighborhood daily.
“It’s frustrating to see a vehicle that serves the community vandalized,” the resident said. “It’s unfortunate that this is how the driver and the organization are treated.”
United Hatzalah president Eli Beer condemned the vandalism as “a vile act” that “crosses a red line and has no place in our society.”
“This is an extreme act that does not represent the residents of Beit Shemesh,” Beer said, adding that Elimelech “dedicated her entire life to helping and saving lives.
Beer said the organization has launched a fundraising campaign for an emergency ATV in Elimelech’s memory. “The best response to this vandalism is to continue saving lives and helping those in need,” he said.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
