Thousands of mourners attended the funeral on Sunday of sisters Maia Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, who were killed in a Palestinian terror attack last week in the Jordan Valley.
The attack, which also killed the sisters’ mother, Lucy, took place Friday on the Route 57 highway near the Hamra Junction.
According to a military probe, terrorists opened fire on the Dees’ passing vehicle, causing it to crash into the road’s shoulder. The terrorists then approached the car and riddled it with nearly two dozen bullets.
“How will I explain to Lucy what happened to her two precious gifts when she wakes up from her coma?” asked Rabbi Leo Dee while eulogising his daughters.
“The formula for faith is always to focus on what you do have and not what you do not have. I still have three wonderful children and a wonderful wife,” he said.
“Today, the Jewish people have proven that we are one. When a family in Efrat hurts, we all hurt. There is no clearer proof of our unity, Am Yisrael Chai [the people of Israel lives],” added Dee.
In tribute to his “beautiful and perfect” daughter Maya, who had wanted to sign up for another year of national service in the IDF, Dee called her “an angel, that will always be our guardian angel.”
Rina, the heartbroken father said, was always “such a great student. Such a great friend. You dreamed of travelling the world, now you are travelling to heaven.”
Several government officials paid their respects at the funeral, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
During the funeral, Israeli media reported that Palestinian Authority security forces located the car used by the terrorists who killed Maia and Rina, abandoned in Nablus.
Israeli security forces on Monday were continuing to search for the perpetrators.
בשם כל אזרחי ישראל אני שולח תנחומים למשפחת די מאפרת על רצח שתי האחיות הנפלאות, רינה ומאיה זכרן לברכה, בפיגוע הקשה בבקעה.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 8, 2023
ברגעים אלה אם המשפחה נאבקת על חייה, ויחד עם כל עם ישראל אני מתפלל לשלומה, וכולנו שולחים תנחומים וחיזוק למשפחה היקרה הזאת ברגע יגונה הקשה. pic.twitter.com/QU52HpTl2M
Posting to Twitter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences “on behalf of all citizens of Israel” to the Dee family “for the murder of the two wonderful sisters, Rina and Maya,”
He added: “Together with the entire nation of Israel… we all send our condolences and strength to this dear family in this moment of great sorrow.”
Rabbi Dee was formerly a senior rabbi at the Radlett United Synagogue in Hertfordshire.
JNS contributed to this report.
