Israel Speaks
The Jewish city of Ariel is located in Samaria surrounded by
Mouslim villages. The family of Ortiz lives there:
David, Lea and 16-year-old Amiel the youngest of their 6 children.
The father of the family, pastor David Ortiz, was born in Puerto Rico.
He became a believer at the age of 18 in the United States.
There he met his wife Lea, the daug- hter of a religious Jewish family, -
who also became a believer.
In 1985 the Ortiz family moved to Israel.
In the late 1980's they settled in Ariel and built
a small congregation there.
From the beginning they had problems with the city's religious residents.
The opposers of believers spread posters in Ariel and outside the city
where they warned people about the Ortiz family and other believers.
One night in March 2008 in his home David felt that something
was about to happen to his family.
On the 20th of March 2008 David and Lea went to see their friends
in Jerusalem.
Their 14-year-old son Amiel stayed at home.
It was the feast of Purim when food baskets are traditionally given out
to friends and neighbours.
On that morning the security cameras in the Ortiz house caught a man
who entered the front door, climbed to the last floor and put a package
outside their door.
The package contained a bomb which was beautifully wrapped
in gift wrappings and on top of it was written: Happy holiday!
He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths
for his name's sake. Psalm 23:3
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
Luke 11:4
In November 2009, over a year and a half after the explosion, -
the police announced they had arres- ted a man suspected of the crime.
The man was Jack Teitel a father of four who lived close to Ariel.
Jack Teitel has confessed the act as well as the murder of two
Palestinian men in 1997.
According to his own testimony, he is proud of his actions.
When the terrorist was arrested they found out that he had contacted
the Ortiz family some 3 months before the attack.
Although the person who harmed them was Jewish, the Ortiz family have not
changed their opinion about the nation to which they also belong.
In the months that followed the attack Amiel received thousands
of letters and postcards from people who had heard of the incident
and wanted to express their support.
Before the accident Amiel was a talen- ted and promising basketball player.
After the attack he had to be in the hospital for 5 months, but
afterwards he slowly came back to the court and has gotten his
skills back.
Translation: Sonja Mattayev