Murder of Ari Fuld

Ari Fuld was born in New York, immigrated to Israel in 1994, and lived in Efrat with his wife and four children.[8] A dual United States–Israeli citizen, he advocated for Israel in public and on social media and worked with Standing Together, an organization supporting Israeli soldiers.[8][4] He was also reported to be a prominent member of the National Union party who served on its Central Committee.[9]

Fuld served as a combat soldier in the Paratroopers, fought in the Second Lebanon War, and continued to report for reserve duty.[10][4] He also belonged to Efrat’s local security team and taught karate as a black-belt instructor.[3] His public-diplomacy work included appearances in Israel and abroad and an English-language blog featuring videos and articles about Israeli current affairs.[5]

Khalil Jabarin, the Palestinian teenager who carried out the attack, was from Yatta.[11] Reporting on his subsequent sentencing said he had considered several possible locations before choosing the Rami Levi supermarket outside the Gush Etzion shopping center.[8] An account based on his interrogation reported that he had attempted to reach the Cave of the Patriarchs on the preceding Friday and Saturday to carry out a stabbing, but turned back after encountering border police and restrictions on access.[12]

On September 16, 2018, Fuld was outside a supermarket near Gush Etzion Junction when Jabarin attacked him with a knife.[11][1] Security-camera footage showed the assailant standing behind Fuld for nearly a minute before striking.[13] Later reporting on the court proceedings said Jabarin carried a 21-centimeter knife and selected Fuld after seeing that his back was turned and that he was distracted by his cellphone.[8]

Before the stabbing, Jabarin had spent time in the shopping area, eaten falafel, sat outside the supermarket, and spoken with cashiers and security guards, according to accounts from employees.[14] Security staff said he had apparently tried to enter the supermarket but was turned away; one officer said an employee had become suspicious and attempted to check his bag without finding the knife, which was in a pocket.[14]

After being stabbed, Fuld pursued Jabarin, jumped over a short stone wall, and shot at him before collapsing.[8][10] Another armed civilian also fired at the attacker.[15] That civilian later recalled hearing someone shout, “Terror attack, terror attack,” seeing a man holding a knife and stabbing, and firing as the attacker ran toward the mall entrance.[10] Police arrested Jabarin after he was subdued.[15]

Fuld was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where efforts to resuscitate him failed.[3] A doctor said he arrived without signs of life and underwent emergency resuscitation and surgery for 50 minutes before being pronounced dead.[3] No other people at the scene were reported injured.[11]

Thousands attended Fuld’s funeral at Kfar Etzion, which began late on September 16 and continued into the following morning.[10] His wife, Miriam, remembered him as someone who ran toward danger, while his father spoke of his strength, passion, and love for his family.[9][10] His father also recalled his service in the Paratroopers, his participation in the Second Lebanon War, and his continued reserve duty.[10] At the time of his death, Fuld had already spoken about Israel in China and was planning another speaking trip to the United States.[10]

An Israeli military court indicted Jabarin on October 22, 2018, for intentionally causing death, and he remained in custody at the end of that year.[15] His trial began in May 2019.[16] In January 2020, he was convicted of intentionally causing death, an offense described in reporting as the military court’s equivalent of murder.[5] The court also convicted him of three counts of attempted murder.[17]

In July 2020, the Judea Military Court sentenced Jabarin to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay Fuld’s family NIS 1.25 million in compensation.[6][8] The verdict characterized his conduct as deliberate and determined, describing his objective as killing Jews wherever they were.[18]

In January 2019, the IDF demolished Jabarin’s room in his family home.[16] The demolition formed part of a policy presented as intended to deter future terrorist attacks.[19] In February 2025, Jabarin was listed among the Palestinian prisoners released in an exchange associated with the release of hostages held by Hamas.[20][21]

Reports differed over whether Jabarin’s family had provided an actionable warning before the attack. Ynet reported that his mother warned Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the southern West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — while a Palestinian security official denied that Palestinian security services had prior information. The same report said the interval between the warning and the attack was too short to produce a concrete alert.[22] A BESA Center commentary separately reported that the family suspected Jabarin might be planning an attack and that his mother went to the Meitar checkpoint to warn soldiers.[19]

The response to the family also prompted debate about deterrence.[19] An analysis published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies criticized announced plans to demolish the family home and cancel extended family members’ Israeli work permits, arguing that punishment despite an attempted warning would undermine deterrence and amount to collective punishment.[19] This was a policy argument rather than a judicial finding about those measures.[19]

The Israel Police posthumously awarded Fuld the Medal of Distinction for his actions in shooting his attacker.[7] The medal was identified as the police’s third-highest award, and Fuld was among 54 police officers and civilians receiving official commendations at the ceremony.[7]

In a reflection on Fuld’s life, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote that he deserved his nickname, the “Lion of Zion.”[4] Sacks recounted that, after being stabbed, Fuld pursued the attacker as he ran toward a woman serving falafel at a nearby shop and shot him before he could kill again.[4]

Sacks also related an anecdote about a local Arab man who came to offer condolences to Fuld’s family.[4] In that account, the man explained that Fuld regularly bought extra food while shopping for his family’s Shabbat meal and gave it to the man’s family, who were poor and often hungry.[4]