The abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman was a 1994 incident in which Palestinian

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

abducted

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i soldier Nachshon Wachsman from the

Bnei Atarot Bnei Atarot () is a moshav in the Central District of Israel. Located near Yehud, around 15 kilometres east of Tel Aviv, it is situated in fertile plains at the eastern rim of Tel Aviv metropolitan area next to Ben Gurion Airport and falls un ...

junction in central Israel, and held him hostage for six days. The incident ended in a failed Israeli rescue attempt, during which Wachsman, three of his captors and an Israeli officer were killed.

Background

In 1994, Hamas tried to disrupt the

peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...

between Israel and the Palestinians which it opposed by carrying out a series of suicide bombings.

Abduction

At home on a leave, Wachsman was instructed by the military to attend a one-day training course in

northern Israel The Northern District (; ) is one of Israel's six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,473 km2, making it the second largest district in Israel. The Golan Heights has been run as a sub-district of the North ...

. He left Saturday night after

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

, telling his parents he would return Sunday night, October 9, 1994. He was last seen by a friend who reported that, after completing the training, Wachsman had been dropped off at the Bnei Atarot junction, a densely populated area in central Israel, where he could either catch a bus or

hitchhike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

, a common practice of Israeli soldiers, to Jerusalem. Israeli intelligence learned that Wachsman entered a car in which there were Hamas militants wearing

kippot A (plural: ''kippot''), , or is a brimless Jewish skullcap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is the most common type of head-covering worn by men in ...

, who had a

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...

on the dashboard, and

Chassidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affi ...

music playing.

Hostage tape

On October 11, 1994, a videotape was broadcast showing Wachsman, with his hands and feet bound, before a

keffiyeh The keffiyeh (), also regionally known as a hattah (), ghutrah (), or shemagh (), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton. The keffiyeh is commonly ...

-covered militant who was displaying Wachsman's identity card. After the militant recited the hostage's home address and identity number, Wachsman spoke, with the armed militant behind him, saying:

The group from Hamas kidnapped me. They are demanding the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and another 200 from Israeli prison. If their demands are not met, they will execute me on Friday at 8 P.M."

Sheikh

Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (; June 1936 – 22 March 2004) was a Palestinian politician and imam who founded Hamas, an Islamist political and military organization. He also served as the first chairman of the Hamas Shura Council and ...

was Hamas leader at the time and had been imprisoned by Israel since 1989. In response to the tape, Nachshon's parents pleaded with world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, and Muslim religious leaders.

Search and rescue attempt

Rabin sealed Gaza, mistakenly believing that Wachsman had been taken there. The move cut off tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers from their jobs in Israel. He also called

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

on the telephone and placed full responsibility for Wachsman's well-being on his shoulders. Arafat responded by denouncing the abduction of Wachsman as an attempt to "embarrass" the Palestinian Authority (PA). A senior PA official commented that "the PA is committed to undertaking every possible effort to find Wachsman, because his abduction is a personal affront to Yassir Arafat." Over the next few days Arafat's PA security forces began cracking down and arresting dozens of Hamas officials and stopping Hamas demonstrations. Over 200 Hamas members were arrested. Eventually the Israeli secret police,

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

, captured Jihad Yarmur, the driver of the car that had picked up Wachsman. Interrogating Yarmur, they learned that Wachsman was being held in the village of Bir Nabala, a location under Israeli control located only ten minutes away from Wachsman's home in the

Ramot Ramot (, ''lit.'' Heights), also known as Ramot Alon (), is an Israeli settlement and neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Ramot was founded in 1974 as one of Jerusalem's so-called " Ring settlements", considered illegal under international law. In ...

neighborhood of Jerusalem. Rabin authorized a military rescue attempt. At 20:00 that night, at the hour of the ultimatum, elite IDF commandos from the

Sayeret Matkal Sayeret Matkal () (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262) (English: General Staff Reconnaissance Unit), is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff (''matkal''). It is considered one of the premier special forces units of ...

special forces unit carried out an operation to free Wachsman. It was thought that Wachsman was being held behind an iron door, but in fact it was a solid steel door, and the first explosion only dented the door. The commandos immediately lost the element of surprise, giving Wachsman's captors inside time to shoot him dead and position themselves for the impending firefight. A second explosive charge was prepared and the door was finally blasted open after more than a minute, and after a heavy exchange of fire with gunmen waiting on the stairwell, the commandos reached a second iron door, and had to wait another four minutes for the charges to be set. During this time, the commandos shouted to the gunmen inside to surrender, while the gunmen replied that Wachsman was already dead and that they preferred to die. After the team broke through the door, another exchange of fire took place before the room was secured. In total, three gunmen were killed and two taken prisoner, while the leader of the commando team, 23-year-old Captain was killed and nine commandos were wounded. Wachsman was found dead in the room. His body was slumped in a chair, wearing a kafiyeh and civilian clothes. He had been shot in the throat and chest at close range. The Wachsman family was informed of his death personally by General

Yoram Yair Yoram Shmuel Yair (; born 29 August 1944) is an Israeli retired soldier who served in the IDF for 35 years until his release with the rank of major general, in 1998. After his release, he volunteers in the social, educational and business fiel ...

Aftermath

In a news conference a few hours after the failed rescue attempt, Rabin, who had authorized it, took full responsibility for it and sent his condolences to the Wachsman and Poraz families. He justified his decision by stating that Israel should do no less than what it expected the PA to do:

"I could not conceive that we would not do what I believe the State of Israel in its war against terror must do; what we actually demanded of the PA and of Arafat, in his capacity as its chairman, during the last week, when the reports were that Wachsman was in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, this is a policy of fighting terror to the bitter end."

Israeli leaders commended Arafat and the PA for their cooperation in trying to locate Wachsman and praised its work. Peres stated in a televised speech on the night of Wachsman's funeral that

"it's clear Hamas is against the two of us srael and the PAbecause the two of us are for peace... Over the last two or three days I believe that Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority did show a readiness to counteract the danger of Hamas."

Environment Minister

Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid (‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of Education and Minist ...

, referring to the PAs crackdown on Hamas, commented that "in the last few days the Palestinian Authority in Gaza has made considerable efforts." Even Israeli hawks such as

Gideon Ezra Gideon Ezra (; 30 June 1937 – 17 May 2012) was an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Likud and Kadima between 1996 and 2012 and also held several ministerial portfolios. Biography Ezra's family came originally as immi ...

admitted to being impressed by Palestinian Security Chief

Jibril Rajoub Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub (; born 14 May 1953), also known by his kunya Abu Rami (), is a Palestinian political leader, legislator, and former militant. He leads the Palestinian Football Association and the Palestine Olympic Committee. He ...

even as he remained wary of him. On October 20, senior Hamas leader

Imad Falouji Imad (also transliterated as Emad, Imed and Aimad ) is an Arabic masculine given name and surname and means "support" or "pillar". Given name * Imād ad-Dīn Muhammad bin Qasim (695-715), Umayyad Caliphate general * Imad Abbas (1975-2004), Pal ...

declared that Hamas would continue fighting until Israel withdrew from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Days later, however, Hamas offered Israel a ceasefire. The abduction caused the PA to clamp down on Hamas military activity with Israeli cooperation. In early 1995, more than a hundred Islamic militants were arrested.

Nachson Wachsman

Sergeant Nachshon Mordechai Wachsman (, born April 3, 1975, died October 14, 1994) was an IDF soldier who was abducted and held hostage by

for a period of 6 days. A

dual citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

and the United States, Wachsman was raised in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He was the third of seven sons born to Yehuda and Esther Wachsman. His father was Israeli-born, while his mother was born in a German

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displace ...

and immigrated to Israel from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

.His Name was Nachshon Wachsman
OU.org Wachsman volunteered for an elite commando unit of the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

, serving in the Orev Golani.

Funeral

Wachsman was buried on Saturday night October 15, 1994 in the

Mount Herzl Mount Herzl ( ''Har Hertsl''), also ''Har ha-Zikaron'' ( lit. "Mount of Remembrance"), is the site of Israel's national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities, found on the west side of Jerusalem beside the Jerusalem Forest. I ...

military cemetery. Wachsman's

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

, Rabbi

Mordechai Elon Mordechai (Moti) Elon (; born 9 December 1959) is an Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi. He has headed several Orthodox Jewish social organizations and institutions, most notably as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat HaKotel in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusale ...

, gave his eulogy. At the request of Wachsman's bereaved father, the rabbi told the crowd of mourners that God did listen to their prayers, and that just as a father would always like to say "yes" to all of his children's requests, sometimes he must say "no" though the child might not understand why. "So too our Father in Heaven heard our prayers, and though we don't understand why, His answer was 'no.'"

Beit Nachshon

Today "Beit Nachshon" at the SHALVA Center in Jerusalem, an association for mentally and physically challenged children, is dedicated to Wachsman's memory.

Jihad Yarmur

Jihad Yarmur was convicted of the killing of Nachshon Wachsman. He was released in October 2011 as one of 1,027 prisoners exchanged for captive Israeli soldier

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit (, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'' ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Ham ...

References

External links

Kidnapping of Soldier Leads Israel to Halt P.L.O. Talks
– published on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' on October 12, 1994
Mrs. Esther Wachhsman, mother of kidnapped soldier, recalls events of her son's kidnapping
– published on ShalomTV
Israel Holding Arafat Accountable For The Fate Of Kidnapped Soldier
– published on the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' on October 11, 1994
US Is Pressing Arafat Over Kidnapped Israeli Soldier
– published on ''

'' on October 14, 1994
Israeli hostage slain during rescue attempt 3 Hamas captors, 1 soldier killed in firefight
– published on the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'' on October 15, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wachsman, Nachson 1994 crimes in Israel Central District (Israel) Deaths by person in Israel Deaths by person in Palestine Hamas attacks Israeli military casualties Israeli people taken hostage Israeli prisoners of war Israeli soldiers Israeli terrorism victims Israeli torture victims Kidnapped American people Kidnappings in Israel Kidnapping in the 1990s Murdered American Jews 1994 murders in Israel October 1994 in Asia October 1994 crimes Operations involving Israeli special forces Hostage rescue operations involving Israel Military personnel from Jerusalem People of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict