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An Officer and a Hero
[Jerusalem Post] Rebecca Anna Stoil - On Thursday evening, Capt. David Shapira had just put one of his two young children to sleep when he heard explosions coming from the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva across the street. When he realized that the explosions were gunshots, he grabbed his service weapon and ran out of the house toward the yeshiva where he himself had studied. Shapira entered the building, tracked the terrorist to the library, got within two to three meters of his target, and neutralized him. Then he searched the area to make sure that other terrorists had not taken cover in the building. On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi called Shapira to hear firsthand an account of the events. Ashkenazi expressed admiration for the "fast and correct" way in which the captain responded to the attack, adding that this is how he expects "any officer to behave, whether in his unit, on the roads or on leave." "In your actions," Ashkenazi told Shapira, "you brought expression to the values of the spirit of the IDF. You demonstrated personal leadership, determination, calmness, bravery and pursuit of your enemy until he was neutralized."