Rabbi Oury Cherky

In memory of Shalom Cherky

I met Rabbi Oury Cherky at his home in the Orthodox Givat Shaul neighbourhood in western Jerusalem, one afternoon in October 2018. The prominent Rabbi, well known in Israel and among the Diaspora greeted us with a warm smile . After offering us a seat and refreshments, he settled in his chair, surrounded by a vast library of books and stated, “I choose to live with joy”. Reiterating this declaration which he explained had been found in written in Hebrew amongst his son Shalom’s affairs, he clarified “I don’t want to develop a culture of mourning. It is important to continue life and to be in life”

26-year-old tousle haired Shalom had been murdered by a terrorist car ramming attack on April 15th 2015. He and his girlfriend had been targeted deliberately as they sat waiting for a bus in Jerusalem on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Police named Khaled Koutineh, a 37-year-old Palestinian Arab of the West bank town of Anata as the driver of the car. The doctors who treated Shalom said there was no doubt he had saved the life of the woman next to him. Tragically, he died of his terrible injuries the following morning, whilst 24-year-old Shira Klien, remained in critical condition.

He had been deeply loved and thousands attended his funeral, where his brother, Mikhail gave a heartbroken eulogy, barely able to speak through his tears. ‘Shalom, Shulem, our brother, our beloved. My beloved brother, wherever you came you were beloved because of the light in your eyes and the captivating smile, but mostly because of Shalom’

Shalom’s background was deeply religious, his family are rooted in generations of Jewish tradition with an enduring connection to the Torah.  His father believes the return of the people of Israel to this land is pivotal, ‘a very crucial event in history, giving direction and meaning to the human story’.

Rabbi Cherky is a native Algerian, tracing his ancestors back 600 years there. He came to Israel however from France, his accent betraying this fact as he described his heritage “We moved to North Africa in 1391 on the side of my father. My mother is Ashkenazi from Czechoslovakia. From my mother I am a descendant of Rashi (a revered medieval Rabbi) - only 900 years ago. I am the 33rd generation. My mother’s father was in Auschwitz, but he survived. I knew him, and he was marked by this. I came to Israel with my parents when I was 13.” with a hint of a smile continuing… ”I am here not too much time- only 45 years.”  

“We had 7 children, Shalom was our second son. He was named Shalom Yochai. Yochai is the name of one of our sages in antiquity”. he continued, explaining “It is a custom to give one more name that signifies or means life. Yochai means God is living...”.

The Rabbi asked us if we would like to see the garden Shalom had cultivated, planted with fruit trees so that he could help others recite the Jewish blessing (Birkat Ha’Ilanot ) made during the weeks leading up to Passover on blossoming trees. As we stood next to the trees his son had established, he explained how the whole neighbourhood joins them there to make the blessing each year; “There are apples and peaches and cherries and many other fruits. It is very important for my wife to continue to take care of it. It’s a sign of life. Its very important for us to continue living, not thinking about death.” he insisted.

Back inside his home conversation returned to the attack.  “Maybe it will be interesting for you to know what I think about the situation, what happened on the day he was killed.  It was the day of the Holocaust memorial in Israel (Yom Ha Shoah). Shalom was very concerned by the Shoah. It was very important to him to remember it, to be aware of what can be done by bad persons and I think that he was a symbol if you want, as of the renewal of the Jewish people in Israel. He was the ultimate human type of the new Hebrew. The new generation of the Hebrew identity, and I think that the murderer was exactly the contrary. He was a barbaric person- he is a barbaric person who magnifies death and killing. The contrast is very strong when I think about it. “

Shalom had been a tour guide in Masa Israel, an organisation that strengthens Jewish identity amongst Israeli teenagers and soldiers. He had also been a counsellor at a Yeshiva (a Jewish school that focuses on the study of the Torah and Talmud), where he had been described as ‘a wonderful man, full of life and always with a constant smile on his face. A person who always wanted to help and who taught his students the importance of giving and loving God’. Having listened to his father speak about his beloved sons’ character, I completely understood the distinction he had drawn between this warm-hearted vivacious son and the cruelty of the murderer.

Despite the obvious fact that Shalom’s death had been incomprehensibly difficult and had affected him deeply Rabbi Cherky asserted his determination to continue to choose life. Shalom’s whole legacy is life, despite the horror of attack which robbed him of the opportunity to live his. During his short time on earth, his life had been ebullient, selfless, rich and full of faith. Spending time with his father I could sense his choice, in his son’s words ‘to live in joy’ is the only possible response to honour Shalom’s memory. Such courage.