Rachel Fraenkel, mother of murdered Israeli teen Naftali Fraenkel, has offered her condolences to the family of 16-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Abu Khdeir, reports The Times of Israel. Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and murdered by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem on July 2, in a brutal vigilante attack following the murders of Israeli teenagers Naftali Fraenkel, Eyal Yifrach, and Gilad Shaar in June.
Below is an excerpt from Fraenkel’s statement:
“Even in the abyss of mourning for Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali, it is difficult for me to describe how distressed we are by the outrage committed in Jerusalem–the shedding of innocent blood in defiance of all morality, of the Torah, of the foundation of the lives of our boys and of all of us in this country.
Only the murderers of our sons, along with those who sent them and those who helped them and incited them to murder–and not innocent people–will be brought to justice: by the army, the police, and the judiciary; not by vigilantes. No mother or father should ever have to go through what we are going through, and we share the pain of Mohammed’s parents.”
On Sunday, two Palestinians visited the Fraenkel family at their home in Nof Ayalon, where they are sitting shiva for Naftali. A few hours later Yishai Fraenkel, uncle of Naftali, shared his condolences with the family of Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir. “We expressed our deep empathy with their sorrow, from one bereaved family to another bereaved family,” he told Ynet news website, according to The Times of Israel. “We expressed our absolute disgust with what had happened. He accepted our statements, it was important for him to hear it.”
Six Israelis were arrested on Sunday for the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and three have confessed their involvement in the crime. Two Palestinians were identified for the kidnapping and murder of the Israeli teens in June, but are still at large.
Read Rachel Fraenkel’s complete statement here.
(Image: Rachel Fraenkel with Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat, via Facebook)
Related: Heartbreaking, Influential Moment: Rachel Fraenkel Says Kaddish For Son Naftali