I never had the honor and privilege of knowing Rabbi Netanel Ozeri, ZTK”L. I did not hear his words of Torah. I did not witness his righteous deeds. I did not know his family and friends but I do know that Netanel Ozeri, HY”D was a Jewish hero. He was my brother, our brother and his blood was shed one year ago as he shared the Friday night Shabbat meal with his wife and five children on a hilltop near Hevron. Hill 26, as they call it.
It was Netanel Ozeri who was the trailblazer, the pioneer, the brave and courageous soul who feared G-d and feared no man, and who had the temerity and strength to settle the land of Israel, despite the obvious dangers. And as all Jewish heros, those who dare to speak the truth and to do the will of their Creator, Netanel Ozeri also paid the price.
Netanel was forcibly evicted from his home by a judicial order and prior to his murder spent four months in jail. Neighbors said that Netanel was arrested by the Shin Bet and the police after participating in the funeral of his friend, Elazar Leibowitz who was recently murdered in the Hebron area by Arab terrorists. The police contend that Natanel struck an officer at the funeral. Friends say that he tried to help a child who was hit by an officer.
But that didn’t stop Netanel Ozeri. We need to take a closer look at who he was and what shaped his deep belief in Hashem and his tireless devotion to the land of Israel. His close friend, Noam Federman, said Netanel “was a courageous man, a hero, a person who knew literature and how to write, an interesting and unusual combination with which few are endowed. He was the type of person who stood out, also as a leader. A man of Torah and a man of action.”
Federman pointed out that Netanel, not only established new Jewish outposts, he interested Jewish youth in settling in them, instructed them, making sure they would study Torah, teaching them in regular classes.
Baruch Marzel, candidate for the Knesset on the Herut list, said that Ozeri “was one of the senior students of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. He was a close friend of Binyamin Kahane [the late Rabbi’s son who was murdered by Arabs along with his wife six years ago], a giant of Torah who knew the Bible and its commentaries. Aside from that, he was a great educator. He was a Jew who gave his life in order to settle the hills [near Hevron]. Recently, he was also active in the Herut election campaign.”
We will always remember that Netanel Ozeri was a man of Torah and the fields, and we will always remember that he was murdered on Tu Bi’Shvat - the New Year for Trees. He was one of the first to settle a lone hilltop, to burst through the fences of the ghetto-like Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, and became a moving force behind the hilltop movement. His Torah knowledge and charisma made him a natural leader among the hilltop youth, who would eventually follow his example, and settle hilltops of their own. Young Jews flocked to hear the words of Torah and strength from this genuine scholar warrior, who himself was only 34 years old. His death leaves these hundreds of young boys orphaned.
His goal was to create a revolution in Israel by raising a fearless generation of hilltop youth, who won’t flinch - not from the Arab beasts, and not from the Israeli police and soldiers. He lived and died on what is called “Hilltop 26″ - a hilltop outside Hebron. But it is not a hilltop similar to many others. While most of the encampments are in the open space, Netanel’s house was surrounded by Arab houses just several meters away from it. He had bravely lived there for years.
Netanel Ozeri was also one of the founding students of the Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea, established by Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1987. His grasp of Torah and his diligence made him one of the top students, and his spiritual and physical strength were unmatched.
We were richly blessed by the Almighty G-d of Israel, who gave us Netanel Ozeri for such a short time. His entire life, hid whole being was dedicated to Klall Yisroel, to Torat Hashem, to Eretz Yisroel. His Emunah, his Bitachon in Hashem, his courage in the face of danger and adversity will serve as a shining example to the youth whose lives he enriched and influenced in such a positive and holy way. May the Almighty avenge the blood of Netanel Ozeri, ZTK”L and may we as a people have the faith and courage to follow his example and may his precious soul be bound for eternal life.
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FERN SIDMAN
