Sadness and Joy as Thousands Celebrate Wedding of Terror Victim’s Daughter
Thousands packed Jerusalem’s International Convention Center to celebrate the marriage of a bereaved bride, whose father and brother were recently murdered by Palestinian terrorists, and to make sure the event would be a joyous one.
Sara Techiya Litman and Ariel Biegel, a young couple who postponed their wedding following a Palestinian terror attack that killed Litman’s father and brother two weeks ago, were married on Thursday evening at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.
Following the horrific attack, the couple invited the general public to their wedding to celebrate with them. The ceremony was attended by approximately 800 people, with the festivities later opened to the public.
The bride’s father, Rabbi Yaakov Litman, and her brother, 18-year-old Netanel, were both murdered on Friday, November 13, shortly before Shabbat when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on their vehicle as they were traveling near the Judean town of Otniel. Their funeral was held the following day.
The wedding was originally scheduled to take place four days later, on November 17. The couple decided to postpone the wedding by nine days.
The ceremony was attended by Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau and Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Shlomo Amar. Sarah Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s wife, arrived later and blessed the newlyweds, along with many other distinguished guests.
About 200 Magen David Adom paramedics came to dance at the wedding. They included many friends of the bride’s late brother, who had volunteered with the medical aid organization.
Thousands of guests came from all over Israel and from around the the world.
“We went from a nation mourning the Litman family’s loss to the a nation celebrating this joyous occasion,” Rene Moskowitz, who did not personally know the Litman family. “We all feel connected to to what this family has been through,” she told Tazpit Press Service. “It was our chance to help make this event happy,” she explained, having traveled from Beit Shemesh to do so.
The newlywed couple thanked the Israeli public for taking interest and coming to celebrate their happy day with them. “Until two weeks ago, nobody knew me or Ariel, and then in one moment on Friday my father and brother were murdered by a vicious terrorist,” the bride said.
“No moment passes by without me missing Netanel’s smile or Dad’s humility and modesty. Out of this pain, in the days before Chanukah we will spread a huge light of happiness together with all the Israeli nation.”
By: TPS News Service