‘My Daughter Lay Down Before the Terrorist Arrived, That’s What Saved Her,’ Israeli Shooting Victim Recalls

Elrai Kapah suffered serious wounds to his upper body in drive-by terror attack south of Jerusalem.

By Ben Rappaport, United with Israel

Elrai Kapah (37), who was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting terror attack last month at the Tekoa Junction south of Jerusalem, recounted the events leading to and following the attack.

The attack took place 18 years after the parents of his wife, Tamar, were murdered in a shooting attack by a Palestinian terrorist in Gush Katif.

In an interview with Makor Rishon, Kapah related that he had been on his way from Nokdim, where he lives, to Tekoa to drop off two of his daughters, Avigayil and Rachel, at summer camp.

“At the left turn toward Tekoa there was heavy traffic. We stood there for several minutes, waiting for the opportunity to join the flow of traffic,” he said.

“Before the terrorist arrived, there was a small opening between the cars, and Avigayil, who was sitting in the back seat, told me ‘Dad, drive, drive now.’

“I looked back at her and said, ‘I want to teach you a life lesson. You don’t confuse drivers, it’s dangerous. As a driver, I have my considerations.”

“In response to the light rebuke, Avigayil lay down demonstratively on the seat behind me.”

“In retrospect, we understood that that’s what saved her,” Kapah continued. “The terrorist, during his interrogation after being caught, said that he hadn’t seen her. He had aimed at Rachel, who was sitting next to me, and at me..”

Kapah suffered serious wounds to his upper body, while his daughters were lightly injured by shrapnel.

After the attack, Kapah and his daughters got out of the car. “I looked at the girls, and they appeared not to have been wounded. I saw that I was bleeding from my stomach. They saw too. They started shouting ‘Dad, don’t die,'” he said.

He was evacuated from the scene via intensive care ambulance over concern for his life.

“I felt I was seeing black and deteriorating, and struggled to stay conscious,” he recounted.

“I saw in my mind my daughters shouting. I told myself I must not lose consciousness. I have to stay strong, I have to live, I want to live. I can’t let this happen to Tamar again,” he said.

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