Fogel Family, Remembered and Cherished

Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 16:58 Written by Arutz7 Wednesday, 22 February 2012 16:52

Next Wednesday marks the first yahrzeit [yearly memorial] of the horrific murder of the Fogel family.

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To commemorate the day, a day that will forever resound within the hearts and minds of the Jewish people, a Beit Midrash [study hall] called Mishkan Ehud is to be dedicated in memory of the father of the family, Rabbi Ehud Fogel, in the Shomron [Samaria] community of Itamar.

Artist Assaf Kidron has designed an Ark of exemplary artistic quality composed of stones from the area, as well as other materials from the garden of the slain family. Kidron, a resident of Itamar, was the last to see Ehud Fogel alive before he was brutally murdered while asleep in his home along with his wife, Ruth, and their three children, Yoav, Elad and Hadas.

The Aron Koshesh [Ark of the Torah scrolls] will stand five meters high and will be the tallest and most prominent structure in the Beit Midrash.

Assaf Kidron is well-known for buildling the tombstone of the late Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, which was made of stones from the Land of Israel.  In an interview with Arutz 7, Kidron articulated his sentiments and sense of purpose by stating, “I see the design and construction of this Ark as a mission.

"The whole world was shocked by the murder, but they will see, how after a year, the community of Itamar is is recovering, and I feel that we are even getting stronger. The Ark was built of local stones that absorbed the history of the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel. These stones speak for themselves and convey the Jewish peoples’ connection to the land, our roots, the Bible and continuity.”

"These stones of the Shomron were exposed to thousands of years of Jewish history and absorbed the events of the founding of our nation. The Ark was built entirely from the stones of Itamar and the additional material was brought from the backyard of the Fogel family, who exemplify an unwavering love of  the Torah and Land of Israel," Kidron said.