OneFamily is devastated and horrified to learn that Hadas Malka, 23, a hero of the Jewish people, was killed by a terrorist outside of the Damascus Gate on Friday shortly before the beginning of Shabbat, on June 16, 2017. May her memory be a blessing.
Hadas comes from Moshav Givat Ezer in the Be’er Tuvia Region. She leaves behind her parents, three sisters and two brothers. Her friends described her as fearless and called her a “real-life Wonder Woman.”
She will be remembered for her heroism, going after an armed terrorist without fear, knowing the danger of the situation. Her actions saved other people.
Hadas was part of a border police unit sent to capture a terrorist who had escaped from police during an attack at the nearby Zedekiah’s Cave. Three terrorists armed with knives and an automatic weapon had wounded four people, including a police officer. Two were killed but one fled towards the Damascus Gate, where he fatally stabbed Hadas before other members of her unit killed him.
The attack took place just before the onset of Shabbat in Jerusalem. Less than an hour earlier, Hadas had sent out a message to her friends that read, “Shabbat Shalom to my loving friends.” Those were her last words before she was killed.
Her funeral took place at midnight after Shabbat. Thousands came to pay their last respects. “You had so many dreams, we wanted to see you beneath the huppah (wedding canopy),” Malka’s brother Guy said. “Get up, Hadassi, tell us it’s a dream. A damned terrorist destroyed all our dreams. We’ll never forget you as our hero sister who protected Jerusalem.”
Hadas had begun her military service in navy but pushed for a spot in the border police unit so she could protect Jerusalem from terrorists. After she finished her regular service, she was offered another 15-month stint with the border police, which she gladly accepted.
“She wanted a meaningful service, she wanted to contribute, she was patriotic like no other,” her uncle, Yaakov Abitbul said. “She always accepted those who were different, helped out, volunteered at school. She would come home from the army with a smile on her face, and never complained,” he added.
Her friends expressed shock over the murder, coming so soon after Hadas had sent out her text message. “My mother told me there had been an attack in Jerusalem. I said how can there be an attack? She just sent us a message,” one friend said.
“Every time there was an attack in Jerusalem I would SMS her to see if she was okay and she would answer,” the friend said. “Yesterday she simply didn’t answer.”