Hundreds of people attended a heart-breaking memorial ceremony on Saturday at Ben-Gurion International Airport for Ezra Schwartz, the 18-year-old American yeshiva student killed in last Thursday's terrorist attack in Gush Etzion. After the ceremony, Schwartz's body was placed on a plane to be flown to the U.S. Schwartz's funeral will take place in his hometown of Sharon, Massachusetts on Sunday. Former Yesh Atid MK Dov Lipman, who organized Saturday's ceremony, said, "Tonight we came as a group to say goodbye to an 18-year-old boy who came to Israel to have a year of study and volunteering and this is where he was cut down and this where he was shot down and all of his friends came together to say goodbye to him." The U.S. government was represented at the ceremony by William Grant, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. "Innocent of any wrongdoing, [Schwartz] was taken cruelly from his family and his friends by an act of terror, which we condemn with all our strength," a message from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro that was read at the ceremony said. Schwartz's uncle Yoav said, "Ezra had a great life and died a happy person. That is the most important thing for us. When I think about Ezra, I think about him flying in the sky with his huge smile. What an amazing kid. Help us preserve Ezra's memory." The other Israeli victim of the Gush Etzion attack -- 49-year-old Yaakov Don -- was laid to rest on Friday at the Kfar Etzion cemetery. A Palestinian man, Shadi Arfa, was also killed in the attack and was buried in Hebron over the weekend.
Hundreds pay tribute to US teen killed by terrorist
Memorial ceremony held at Ben-Gurion International Airport before body of Ezra Schwartz put on plane to U.S. • Schwartz's funeral to take place on Sunday in Sharon, Massachusetts • Schwartz's uncle: Help us preserve his memory.
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