Thousands of bitter but orderly Israelis attended funeral services today for the four residents of Beisan murdered yesterday in an attack by three Arab terrorists. The victims were Yehuda Beibas. 52, his wife Zohara, 50, Mrs. Mazal Me’eri, 40, and Jean Pierre Alami, 42, who died from a broken back suffered when he jumped from a window to escape the terrorists.
During the funeral services police and soldiers were stationed around the Beisan cemetery. Several mourners were revived by nurses when they fainted during the services.
The terrorists stormed a house in Beisan. a town of 20.000 people, mostly immigrants from North Africa, located 15 miles from the Sea of Galilee and four miles from the Jordanian border. After soldiers stormed the building and killed the terrorists, infuriated Israelis threw the bodies of the killers out of windows and set fire to them.
RABBI GOREN CONDEMNS ACTION
That action was condemned by Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who conducted the graveside eulogies. He said it was opposed by Jewish religious law. adding that Jews regarded all “bodies as holy, even those of our enemies, since all men are created in the image of God.” Many Beisan mourners expressed sorrow and regret about that action.
Aharon Yariv. Israel’s Information Minister, told the mourners that Israel’s government and people were “intent on fighting terrorism, wherever terrorists are found, at any time and in any way necessary.”
Yariv also issued a warning: “To the murderers and those who sent them we say: Our hands are stretched out in peace, our spirits are against shameful deeds, but do not make the mistake of misinterpreting our internal discussions.” Declaring that Jewish blood would not be “spilled in vain,” he added that “this is the only manner in which we can honor the victims.” Yariv also told the mourning crowd that “those who are entrusted with the security of Israel, and the Israel army at its spearhead, have again proved they can be trusted. By their swift action, they prevented a still larger tragedy.”
He called on the Beisan residents to volunteer for service with the civil defense organization established by the government recently to guard villages and public places against terrorist at-tacks. Before the services, police distributed 200 rifles to Beisan residents for self-defense. (By Yitzhak Shargil)
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