POLICE OFFICER SERVES IN HONOR OF HER SLAIN HERO HUSBAND

First to engage, first to fall – he saved the lives of his colleagues.

By Rolene Marks

*Photos courtesy of the Harush family and Israel Police.

“If I had just a tiny bit of information about what was to come, I would never have let him go,” said Hodaya Harush in memory and tribute to her late husband, Eliyahu. Hodaya is an extraordinary woman, a mother of three, who is Haredi and serves in the Israeli Police as an investigator at the Netivot police station. Eliyahu Harush was the first officer to fall on 7 October in Sderot during the “Battle of Sderot Police Station” that would become one of the seminal moments of that ‘Black Saturday’ – a symbol of the heroism of Israel’s police who fought valiantly against a ruthless enemy who threatened the civilians of their town.

A few nights before the seventh, Hodaya had a dream. She dreamt that she was standing with Eliyahu’s shift commander and she was crying. Hodaya tried to erase the dream from her mind but the events of the days to come would reopen that memory.

Eliyahu dropped Hodaya and their three girls off at her father’s house in Petach Tikvah on the Thursday before he started his shift at the police station. He was going to collect them after Shabbat ended. They communicated via What’s App for the next two days and one of the last messages Hodaya received from Eliyahu was a sticker with the message:

 “Keep an eye out for children who don’t have family”.  

Her final words to him were “Chag Sameach”.

Saturday morning started with sirens and rocket fire. Hodaya gathered her children and joined the rest of the extended family in the mamad (shelter). Hodaya like most Israelis, is used to rocket fire and sirens and tried to settle the children back to sleep. Her brother-in-law, who was also a police officer, received a message from his patrol unit and was called away. Hodaya understood that something big had happened. Although she had never broken Shabbat, Hodaya opened her phone and saw the messages coming in. The news came in that Sderot Police Station had been taken over by Hamas terrorists. Hodaya had seen a picture of the white pick-up trucks with mounted guns on the back that is synonymous with Hamas that day. Hodaya tried to call Eliyahu. She sent messages. She tried another police officer, Mor Shakuri, but there was no answer from either of them. Shakuri was already dead, killed, as was her father Roni that day, when terrorists opened fire on a car he was in with two other officers.

Hodaya’s daughter Lia, just 5-years-old at the time, told her that she had a dream. Lia dreamt her father had been killed. Hodaya felt that the dots were starting to connect. The day passed without any word from Eliyahu – or his whereabouts. Hodaya started to call anyone she could to try find out what happened to Eliyahu. She called hospitals, other police officers and friends. Her heart could not reconcile what she knew logically – something was wrong. She had seen that the district commander had given the order to demolish the police station and was frantic he may still be inside.

“On that Saturday, I didn’t know exactly what was happening, and that uncertainty is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. His father and I ran backwards and forwards from the balcony looking for a sign of a patrol car but none came. It was like a movie. His sister said that maybe he’s hiding and without knowing, I told her: I know that Eliyahu is the first to go out to defend and protect his comrades and the citizens,” says Hodaya. “He is the first to save lives,” she continues.

At 1h36 in the morning, police officers finally arrived and told her that Eliyahu had been killed. Hodaya’s first question was if the police had the body – and if it was whole. They confirmed he had been killed at the front of the police station. Hodaya broke down, devastated. At 26, she was now a widow with three small children. She had to find her strength for them. Two weeks later, she returned to work.

“Even before they buried my Eliyahu, they came to me from the National Police Academy; I was still in training. They came to me from the academy and said to me: Listen, if you don’t want to continue with the course, just tell us.” Hodaya answered with an emphatic no.

“The first thing I said to them, without hesitation, was that it was Eliyahu who sent my resume, I told them: this is Eliyahu’s will. Eliyahu made sure that I joined the Israel Police and I am going to do everything possible to serve as a police officer,” says Hodaya.

Hodaya wrote her eulogy before she knew what happened that morning. She spoke of how he fought in Hashem’s name with bravery and determination to save lives. At the funeral, two officers told her that because of Eliyahu, they were alive. He had saved their lives.

It was at the Shiva where Hodaya would find out what happened that morning. A police officer told her the events as they unfolded:

Eliyahu was on shift with another officer, Sharon, when they received a call that there was an infiltration at nearby Zikim beach. Rockets were raining down on the south and other parts of the country. He told the officer to gear up – full gear, rifles, vest – everything. They were unaware that Hamas terrorists were already in Sderot. As Sharon exited the building, a pick-up truck arrived and opened fire. Sharon managed to get to a nearby shelter where he stayed for five and a half hours. Eliyahu ran out, drawing the fire to him as other officers ran to the roof where they were eventually saved. Eliyahu was the first to engage with the terrorists and the first to fall. He saved the lives of his colleagues who managed to get to safety.

Hodaya has started a campaign to dedicate a Sefer Torah in Eliyahu z”l’s name:

https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/Harush

Ten police officers fell in the Battle of Sderot, 59 on 7 October and 66 since 7 October.

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