The Case
On the 4th of July, 2002, at 11:21am, El Al employee, Vicky Hen was murdered by a Moslem terrorist in the Los Angeles Airport while she was booking in El-Al passengers.
Fifteen years ago Vicky Hen and Jacob Aminov were the two Israeli-Angelenos murdered in a jihadist’s attempted massacre at LAX El Al Departures counter, on that disastrous July 4th. Each year, some, but way, way too few arrive at Vicky’s commemorating site at LAX to show respect for Vicky’s soul.
It was Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41 year old, of Egyptian origin, a Jihadist-terrorist who belonged to al Qaeda’s Operational Arm, who lived freely in Southern California, in the United States, who entered LAX and opened fire on the El-Al counter. We would not have known about Hadayet’s jihad cell if he had not targeted Israel, by opening fire on El Al – the national airline of the Jewish state Israel, on July 4th, 2002, America’s Independence Day.
Hadayet’s victims ended up to be Victoria (Vicky) Hen, who worked at the El-Al counter, at Bradley International Terminal of LAX, Los Angeles who was fatally shot by this deranged Egypt-born Moslem terrorist, as well as Yaacov Amidinov, 46 years old, who accompanied a friend to the airport for his friend’s El-Al flight to Tel Aviv, when the terrorist’s bullet took his life.
The Forgotten Vicky
One could expect that the Jewish community would take a stand, come each year to commemorate, with a tone of protest, the painful loss of one more Jewish life by a Jew-hating Islamist. But no! Less than some of the Hens’ family members and loyal friends, a formal representative of the government of Israel, a formal representative of El-Al, a formal representative of IAC, and a formal representative of the local government were all Absent Without Leave (AWOL). And the Jewish community at large and beyond has been silence and have not shown presence.
Vicky, who was only 25 years of age then, would have been 40 years old today. Instead, her life was cut short when she was gunned down in the first Islamic-Jihad act of terror on the West Coast of the USA.
No matter how so many tried to twist the facts, Vicky was a victim of Islamo-terror. And why was she such a victim? Because she was Jewish and she worked at the counter of the Jewish state, Israel’s, national airline.
Rachel and Avi Hen, the bereaved parents of Vicky, have a question. How many more innocent Jewish and/or Israeli people will be senselessly murdered or maimed on the altar of Islam Jew hatred before we end it?
Rise and Make Your Voice Count
Our Jewish sages said that where there is evil and mayhem, there is no sense of talking about peace. Though we say enough is enough, when will we reach the day when we no longer say, enough? Isn’t time to rise up and unite to demand of ourselves strength and unity so we can hold to our freedom and decency, before we seek peace with those who are out to murder and vanquish us?
As we are witnessing today, Islamic aggression directed at Jews never ends up with the Jews. It did not end with Nazi Germany, or Moslems who flew airplanes into the Trade Center buildings in New York City, or, Christians killed in Moslem lands and now on their own lands. It will never end unless we put an end to it.
We live in an era of war between darkness and light in which Israel and the West are the target. Time to stand up and be counted; we must eradicate this malignant tumor of Islam terror everywhere. May Vicki’s soul guide us.
Vicky was only 25 years of age when the jihadist bullet penetrated her heart. Her memory has been living in the hearts of her family and her family’s close friends. It is time that it begins perpetually living in the heart of every Jew in Los Angeles and beyond.
For Vicky Hen’s 4th July 2018, 16 years memorial service, I am expecting at least 1000 Angelenos to come to show respect and tell the world, enough is enough.
