Wounded soldiers inducted into the IDF at the Western Wall. (IDF/Twitter) IDF/Twitter
IDF Western Wall

IDF soldiers who were injured in a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem attended a swearing-in ceremony later the same day at the Western Wall.

By Benjamin Kerstein, The Algemeiner

In spite of their injuries, a group of IDF soldiers managed to make it their swearing-in ceremony on Thursday night at the Western Wall in Jerusalem despite being wounded in a car-ramming attack near the city’s old train station in the early morning.

Twelve Golani Brigade soldiers were hit by a car driven by a Palestinian terrorist while on their way to the induction event following the completion of their military training. There were no fatalities, and the perpetrator was arrested Thursday evening at the Gush Etzion junction.

The attack came amid a wave of terror attacks, including a shooting near the Temple Mount and another in Samaria.

Several of the injured soldiers, some using crutches, arrived at the Western Wall to be sworn in. Others watched a live broadcast of the ceremony from the hospital.

Israeli news site Mako quoted one of the wounded soldiers as saying, “We survived it, and that’s the most important thing. We’re feeling better.”

Another wounded soldier said he experienced “great happiness” at the news that the terrorist had been caught.

His mother added, “Thank God, it was a great miracle that they were saved. The holy one, blessed be He, protected them.”

At the ceremony, Lt. Col. Sivan Bloch told the soldiers, “Yesterday we were walking through the capital, on the same roads taken by the soldiers of the Six-Day War — like then, yesterday a terrorist tried to harm and prevent the rebirth and hope of the state.”

“Our message to you and to the Jewish people is that no one can harm our spirit and our righteous path,” he added. “We are here to stay.”

“No attack or hostile action will stop us,” Golani commander Col. Shai Kelfer said. “We are as always determined to be victorious.”

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Moshe Levi, one of the parents whose son was present at the attack, though not injured, said, “I heard about the attack and I couldn’t get him, the phone was cut off. They said on the news that the wounded were IDF soldiers and that increased my worries.”

“After a few minutes we were told that they were Golani soldiers, and it also said that they were drafted in November and were on the way to their swearing-in at the Wall,” he continued. “That clinched it. My pulse rose, I started to sweat. I tried to call again and the phone was shut off.”

“I tried to call the commander,” he recounted, “minute after minute, and it was like forever. … After a few minutes, he called, told us my son was not among the wounded, and hung up without elaborating.”

Some time later, Levi was able to get in touch with his son.

“He called me and said one sentence, ‘Dad, we’ll see each other later at the ceremony and I can’t talk right now,’ and hung up,” he added. “I couldn’t understand what happened. I tried to call again afterward, but it was already shut off.”

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