A poignant meeting in New York: Golani fighter Shalom Sheetrit, who lost his right leg in the murderous attack by Hamas on October 7, met last night with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto at his home in Manhattan.
"This is the first time I've seen the rabbi, and I can't explain the effect on me," began Sheetrit. He spoke about the morning of Simchat Torah, when 150 Nuchba terrorists took over the Pega army outpost where he and his friends were staying.
"After there were alarms, we left the protected areas. I got my weapon ready to shoot and left. Suddenly I saw two terrorists in front of me and I shot and killed them both. But one of them hit me in the leg and injured me," Sheetrit told Rabbi Pinto.
Sheetrit served in the 13th Battalion in Golani in the mortar department at the Pega outpost located 250 meters from the Gaza Strip border. "When I eliminated the two terrorists, I was concerned that there might be a few more terrorists in my area. I waited a long time while I was injured with a bleeding leg. But only about 150 terrorists entered our outpost while about 3,000 more entered Israel that terrible morning," Sheetrit continued recounting the difficult moments.
Rabbi Pinto could not hold back the tears and hugged Sheetrit, "We must stop this bloodshed. It's time to unite, to feel close to each other. Let's stop the constant conflicts - and in this merit, the bloodshed will stop," said Rabbi Pinto.
"It was heavenly providence that brought me here and I am very touched," said Sheetrit. "I came to New York to spread unconditional love and talk about unity and that is my goal: to spread unity and unconditional love." Watch the touching meeting.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel