Neta Lavi, the widow of Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, recounted Wednesday the moments of terror she experienced watching the stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City during last Sukkot in which both her husband and Aharon Bennett were murdered. 

In an interview on Channel 20, Lavi described how the attack began: “We were at the end of the meal, we went down to the house from the sukkah and heard terrible shouts from the window.”

“Our windows directly face Hagai Street which leads from the Damascus Gate to the Kotel and we heard horrible shouts,” she continued. “I thought for a moment it was a crazy woman yelling, it didn’t sound like something ordinary.” 

“Our daughter, a sixth grader, went to the window to see if the person yelling was an Arab or a Jewish woman. She shouted ‘it’s a Jew.'”

Before Neta could even understand what was happening, her husband was already headed to the street. “Seconds later, I didn’t see him. He just ran down to help her. I didn’t absorb it right away because I still did not understand what exactly was happening.” 

As Neta realized it was an attack, her husband was already downstairs trying to fend off the terrorist, before being fatally injured himself. 

“He came out of the yard, turned toward Adele (Bennett) whom the terrorist had seriously injured. It was a few meters to the right where Nehemia met her. He didn’t notice the terrorist and and turned toward her to help her. The terrorist spotted him and he came up to him from behind and stabbed him in a major artery, which didn’t even confuse Nehemia. He began to struggle with (the terrorist). 

Neta descended a short time after her husband and as she made her way to the street, she saw Nehemia lying on his back, fighting the terrorist for control of his gun. 

“At some point, Nehemia drew his weapon to shoot him but he was weakened from loss of blood. Those were terrible moments. I remember screaming – Nehemia!”