Israeli 'guitar hero' who tried to stop Jaffa terrorist faces outpouring of gratitude

In a show of gratitude for his courageous efforts, donors are reaching out with guitars to Yishay Montgomery, who used his musical instrument in attempt to subdue the attacker.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MARCH 9, 2016 11:51
Yishay Montgomery, Israel's 'Guitar Hero' (photo credit: BEN HARTMAN)
Yishay Montgomery, Israel's 'Guitar Hero'
(photo credit: BEN HARTMAN)
Young Israeli man Yishay Montgomery is being hailed as the country's "guitar hero" after he attempted to subdue a terrorist who carried out a vicious stabbing rampage Tuesday evening on the boardwalk near Jaffa.
Montgomery was playing his guitar near the beach in southern Tel Aviv on Tuesday when the incident that left an American tourist dead and 12 other wounded occurred.
"I was sitting on the beach and I heard screaming coming from down the road," he told Channel 2 after the attack. "I immediately got up and started running after [the terrorist] with the guitar - I hit him on the head with it. He was so shocked he didn't know what to do with himself."
Montgomery displayed his wrecked guitar, recounting that he had realized that other people were not aware of the attacker's presence, so he began to run after the knife-wielding Palestinian screaming "terrorist." Montgomery said that a group of people joined the chase before the assailant was ultimately subdued.

An outpouring of gratitude for his courageous efforts ensued following the attack.
A local music store has provided Montgomery with the gift of a guitar in light of his brave actions.
In addition, an online fundraising campaign was started to raise funds to replace Montgomery's guitar that was damage in the events of the attack.
"Yishay may very well have saved many lives as he neutralized the attack. He deserves a new top of the line guitar or two or 3. Only the best for this life saving guitar hero! We live you Yishay!" read the fundraising petition on the online crowdfunding platform GoFundMe.
Within 11 hours of its launch, slightly more than 100 people managed to quickly supersede a fundraising goal of $2,000, donating $2,304 to the cause.

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Ed Dvir, who launched the initiative from Philadelphia, wrote on the online fundraiser's page that he would purchase the new guitars in the US and deliver them to Montgomery while in Israel.