Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin were shot dead in their car by Palestinian terrorists. Photo: Israel Foreign Ministry.

JNS.org – Thousands of friends, neighbors, and family members attended a traditional 30-day memorial ceremony for terror victims Eitam and Naama Henkin in Jerusalem on Sunday, where Eitam was remembered as a hero for saving the couple’s young children.

The Henkins were murdered in front of their four children — Itamar, 6 months, Neta, 4, Nitzan, 7, and Matan, 9 — when Palestinian terrorists attacked them while they were driving on a Samaria road in early October. Their children now live with their maternal grandparents, Hanan and Hila Armoni, in the community of Peduel.

Hila Armoni spoke of the challenges in raising the four newly orphaned children and said, “They were saved by their courageous father’s heroic actions.”

Police investigations revealed that after the first round of gunfire stopped the car, the gunmen came up on both sides of the vehicle to ensure they had killed the family. Eitam Henkin got out of the car and began to fight one of the terrorists. The second gunman tried to shoot Eitam, but instead accidentally hit his partner, injuring his arm. The two terrorists then fled. The wounded terrorist’s gun was found at the scene, and finding it enabled police to catch the attackers.