JERUSALEM—Newlyweds Mendy and Esther Turk, who arrived in Israel just two days ago to start their new life together with a year of study in Jerusalem, received a slightly different “welcome” than they might have been anticipating.
They landed here just six weeks after their nuptials to start their married life built upon what he called “solid foundations, surrounded by the special holiness of the Land of Israel, and Jerusalem, in particular.”
Mendy Turk—whose parents, Rabbi Yossi and Chana Eta Turk, are Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Cordoba, Argentina—will begin his studies at the storied Colel Tzemech Tzedek, a yeshivah for young married scholars in Jerusalem’s Old City. Esther Turk—whose parents, Rabbi Chaim and Calanit Cohen of São Paulo, Brazil—are also emissaries, will also be studying in Jerusalem.
Just one day after landing, they found themselves at the central bus station in Jerusalem to get their “Rav Kav” transit identification and payment cards. They were about to have a snack at a local kiosk, and then there was chaos.
“We were eyeing the merchandise, and suddenly, we heard gunshots. Our initial response was to jump behind the counter and get down low. Instantaneously, everyone broke out into a run, seeking cover,” recalled Mendy Turk.
“We stayed put where we were for a few minutes and then wanted to leave. But, again, the noise broke out, and dozens of Israeli soldiers were on site with their weapons drawn and ready—I wasn’t sure why, maybe they were looking for an accomplice. About 20 other people, as well as us, crammed into a little room that was located at the back of the store,” he continued. “This in itself was frightening, but truthfully, one of the most disturbing things I remember is at that moment seeing so many adults ... crying.”
“Finally, we were allowed to leave and were heading toward the exit when a huge, huge group of soldiers appeared and started charging the entrance, their guns ready—you could hear the clicks of the guns being cocked. It was a type of mayhem, with some of the soldiers telling us to stay put, while others were giving us instructions to leave.”
‘We Will Continue Here’
The Turks were able to make their way out and to head straight to the nearby light-rail train station, where they learned that a 70-year-old woman had been stabbed by a terrorist, who was shot and killed by police, and there had been fears that a second terrorist was in or around the bus station. “We boarded that train, along with a throng of others with the same exit strategy in mind. The doors closed, and we were able to get out of the area.”
“But you know,” Mendy Turk recounted, “one of the things that really stood out in my mind through all of this was recalling when, during the Persian Gulf War, my father was starting his work as a Chabad emissary in Argentina. He was conducting prayers for the safety of Israel, and I remember him repeating what the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] often quoted from the Torah in times of distress regarding Israel, that it is: “a land the L‑rd, your G‑d, looks after; the eyes of L‑rd your G‑d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”
Despite their harrowing experience, they intend to stay for the year as planned.
“We may all go through our scary moments, but we will continue here,” Turk concludes, “remembering that this is the land that G‑d’s eyes are upon.”
For more news, opinion, inspiration, advice and first-person articles on the October 2015 Wave of Terror in Israel, visit the special Chabad.org section here.
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