Rebbetzin Chana Henkin, Founder and Dean of Midreshet Nishmat, one of the leading Torah and halakhic studies institute for women, said she was “very hurt” by the recent statements by former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who, essentially, blamed Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria for the murder of her son and daughter-in-law.
Ya’alon drew a cause-and-effect line from Bennett’s objection to the demolition of Jewish homes in Beit El, to the burning of an Arab family in their sleep by—allegedly—a young settler, and from there to what Ya’alon called the revenge murder of the Henkins, a full two months later.
“The blood of the Dawabsha family in Duma and the […] Henkin couple who was murdered in the revenge attack over Duma, is on our hands,” Ya’alon clapped al-het using Bennett’s chest.
Eitam and Na’ama Henkin were murdered on October 1, 2015 in Samaria by a Hamas cell that shot and killed them in front of their four children who were inside the family van.
In response, Rebbetzin Henkin reminded Ya’alon of the actual findings of the investigation that followed her loved one’s murder, as they were reflected in the court proceeding against the killers – something an expert on Ya’alon’s level should be familiar with. Henkin, who said she felt compelled to review the court case after hearing Ya’alon, set the record straight, telling NGO on Monday, “the murder of my son and my daughter had been planned long before [Duma]. It was a Hamas cell and they were guilty of murder and the blood of my son and daughter-in-law is on their hands – they and anyone who supports terrorism.”
“The squad numbered fifteen members and began operating many months before that summer with the aim of murdering Israelis,” she noted. “They also tried to carry out attacks before the attack in which my son and daughter-in-law were murdered.”
“I am shocked that a leader in Israel, a former defense minister, can say that the blood of the Henkin family is on our hands and not on the hands of those Hamas terrorists,” Rebbetzin Henkin said.
“My son and daughter-in-law were on their way back home from a meeting with friends, and an organized group that had attempted to carry out attacks numerous times managed to hit them. This is called blood on our hands?” Henkin inquired angrily.
Related story: Former Samaria Council Head: Henkin Couple’s Blood on Ya’alon’s Hands