Salomon Family Celebrates Bris Milah With Hundreds Attending

Tragedy and joy dwelt together in the home of the Salomon family on Thursday as they celebrated a bris milah while still sitting shivah for three of their members, Hy”d, slain in Chalamish last Shabbos, an event that has shaken all of Klal Yisrael.

Earlier in the day, the family issued an invitation to the general public to come and share in the event — “so that the Salomon family will be remembered as happy and joyous and not sad and hurt” — and hundreds came.

His parents, Shmuel and Chen Salomon, named their new son “Ari Yosef.” Shmuel said that “Ari” was chosen in honor of his wife’s grandfather, and “Yosef” was added in memory of his father, who was murdered in the terrorist attack.

The invitation read: “The public is invited to accompany us during the entrance of our son, grandson, nephew, into the covenant of Avraham Avinue, which will take place on Thursday, July 27, at 5:00 pm at the Vizhnitz Conference Hall in Elad. We will be comforted by your presence.”

It also quoted the verse recited during a bris milah: “And I passed over you and saw you struggling in your blood. And I said to you: In your blood — you shall live! And I said to you, In your blood – you shall live!”

Among those who came to be menachem avel on Thursday were Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.

Netanyahu told the family that he believes the murderer should be given the death penalty.

“My position as the prime minister is that in this case, with such a lowly murderer, he has to be taken out to die. He should simply never smile again.

“The death penalty for terrorists is something that the time has come to do,” he said, putting him on record with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, who have said the same in recent days.

“It’s enshrined in the law. You need to have the judges reach unanimity, but they also want to know the government’s position,” Netanyahu added.

On Wednesday night, U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman arrived at the Salomon’s.

After his visit with the family, Greenblatt tweeted, “With a heavy heart I visited the Salomons. Three brutally murdered at their Shabbat table in terror attack. May their memories be a blessing.”

Accompanying Greenblatt and Friedman was Efrat Council head Oded Revivi, who
later said, “It should not be taken for granted that President Trump personally sent his Ambassador David Friedman and Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt to pay a shivah call to the Solomon family. America is our strongest ally, and we must stand shoulder to shoulder in the war on terror.

“Their official visit sent a clear message that there is no justification for murdering a grandfather as he celebrates the birth of his new grandson.” As Ambassador Friedman told the Salomons, “I have come here on behalf of the President of the United States of America and her 300 millions citizens who simply can’t understand this barbaric attack.”