The daughter and son-in-law of a Brandeis University professor died shielding their teenage son with their bodies when Hamas terrorists invaded their home in Israel over the weekend, the educator revealed.
Ilan Troen, an Israeli academic who recently retired from his position at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said his daughter, Debbie Shahar Troen Mathias, and her husband, Shlomi Mathias, had taken refuge in a safe room when the gunmen from Gaza entered his house. and opened fire, killing the couple and wounding their 16-year-old son, Rotem Mathias.
“My daughter and son-in-law were murdered today, but when they died, they were saved.” [my teenage grandson’s] life. They followed his body. They were all together in the safe room. And they covered his body and he was saved,” Troen told NPR.
“However, a bullet passed through them and entered his abdomen,” he said, although his son survived.
The couple received heartfelt tributes, one of which described Shlomi as “a loving person who loved making music, who loved teaching, who loved life and who loved the country she lived in.”
A friend of Debbie’s said she was a “beautiful soul” and shared a snap of the couple.
“I can’t believe my friend and fellow poet Debbie Shahar Troen Mathias and her husband were killed in this horrific and senseless attack on Israel,” Ayala Zarfjian wrote on Facebook.
“We write poetry online and encourage each other. She was a beautiful soul. Last week I was very happy to see beautiful photographs of her vacation in the Netherlands. Rest in peace.”
Brandeis University confirmed that Troen’s daughter and son-in-law were among the 600 Israeli citizens killed during the surprise attack by Hamas terrorists.
“At Brandeis we are deeply saddened to learn that Professor Troen has lost his daughter and son-in-law in the tragic events currently taking place in Israel. “Ilan, a Brandeis alumnus, and his family have long been valued members of the Brandeis community, and we keep Ilan, his wife Carol, and his entire family in our thoughts,” the university wrote in a release. WBZ.
Debbie Shahar Troen Mathias and Shlomi Mathias died protecting their teenage son. Facebook/Debbie Shahar
BREAKING: Brandeis University confirms its professor’s daughter and son-in-law died in attacks in Israel. Professor Ilan Troen and his wife Carol are long-time members of Brandeis. #wbz pic.twitter.com/zMWNno6F8E
—Tiffany Chan (@TiffanyWBZ) October 8, 2023
Brandeis University confirmed that Troen’s daughter and son-in-law were among the 600 Israeli citizens killed during the surprise attack by Hamas terrorists. Facebook/Debbie Shahar
“We most strongly condemn terrorism such as that we have seen perpetrated against innocent civilians today,” the statement continued.
As the news spread online, Martin Kramer, a historian at Tel Aviv University, noted that Troen had recently returned to Israel after his retirement.
“My friend Ilan Troen, who has done so much for Israel studies in the United States, has suffered an unimaginable loss. He recently retired from Brandeis and returned to his home in Israel. “A miracle wrapped in tragedy.” Kramer wrote.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel.
In an article published on the university’s website in 2017, announcing Troen’s retirement, he said he always encouraged the study of Israel “not with collaboration nor with abject criticism, but as one would study other societies with all their complexities and contradictions.” .
Ilan Troen recently returned to Israel to be closer to his family. Facebook/Debbie Shahar
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet officially voted to declare war, the first since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday prepared the Jewish state for a “long and difficult war” as his administration retaliated against a surprise attack by Hamas terrorists that killed at least 600 Israeli citizens.
“We are embarking on a long and difficult war. The war was imposed on us by a murderous attack by Hamas. The first phase ends today with the destruction of most of the enemy forces that have penetrated our territory,” Netanyahu declared.
“We will restore security to the citizens of Israel and we will win.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn