I-24 NEWS – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag on Monday, in a show of solidarity with the victims of Sunday’s Jerusalem truck-ramming attack.
Four Israeli soldiers aged 20 to 22 were killed in the attack when East Jerusalem resident Fadi el-Qanbar swerved his truck onto the sidewalk and into a group of soldiers debarking a bus at the Haas-Sherover Promenade in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem.
15 other soldiers were injured, four of them suffering moderate to serious injuries, the rest lightly injured.
The four killed soldiers — three women and one man — were later named as Lieutenant Yael Yekutiel (20) of Givatayim, Cadet Shir Hajaj (22) of Maaleh Adumim, Cadet Shira Tzur (20) from Haifa, and Cadet Erez Orbach (20) from Alon Shvut.
They were buried in military ceremonies attended by hundreds on Monday.
Israeli Prime Mister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to thank Germany for its show of solidarity.
“The flag of Israel on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin,” Netanyahu wrote. “Thank you, Germany, for identifying with Israel and standing with us in our common struggle against terrorism.”
Avraham Nir-Feldklein, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel to Germany, also welcomed the gesture, saying Israel was “moved by the gesture of the Berlin Senate and we are very grateful for the support of the German government and the people [and] for the consoling words of solidarity.”
“We all see us faced with the same terror, from Nice over Berlin to Jerusalem, but together we will face evil and we will win,” he was quoted in a Facebook post by the Israeli embassy.
“Today, the light of the Brandenburg Gate symbolizes the connection of our hearts,” Nir-Feldklein was quoted.
Various photos of the Berlin landmark lit in Israel’s colors was shared on social media by different German and international pro-Israel groups and received thousands of likes.
The show of solidarity follows an online petition, calling on the Berlin Senate to illuminate the Brandenburg Gate in the national colors of Israel, just as was done after “terror attacks in France, Poland, Turkey, and Germany.”
“Anything else would be damning indictment for Berlin and would give the impression that there are first and second class victims,” the petition read.
Within 24 hours of its inception, the petition was signed by over 4,000 supporters, but it was not clear if it was the inspiration behind today’s event.
Simply revolting!
BAFS
Disgusting