April 29, 2019

Mourning the Loss of Chabad Synagogue Congregant Lori Gilbert Kaye

BY Audrey Jacobs | Apr 27, 2019 | San Diego Shooting
Lori Gilbert Kaye
Today at synagogue an anti-Semitic murderer shot and killed my friend Lori Gilbert Kaye z”l, age 60. Lori you were a jewel of our community a true Eshet Chayil, a Woman of Valor.  You were always running to do a mitzvah (good deed) and gave tzedaka (charity) to everyone. Your final good deed was taking the bullets for Rabbi Mendel Goldstein to save his life. Lori leaves behind a devastated husband and a 22-year-old daughter. When Lori was shot, she wasn’t next to her husband, Howard, who is a doctor. People screamed for help and he ran to immediately give CPR to the fallen victim, when he looked at who it was, HIS WIFE, he fainted.
When I heard the horrific news, Lori I called your best friend of 25 years Dr. Roneet Lev who was at the hospital with the other victims and their families. They asked their story to be shared. Saturday, April 27 at Chabad of Poway, San Diego on Shabbat and the last day of the Passover holiday, a 19-year-old stormed in and said ‘F*ck the Jews’ and opened fire with an AR-type assault weapon. The hateful murderer had posted a manifesto online with anti-Semitic screeds and talked about planning the attack! He shot and killed Lori Kaye z”l who took the bullets for the Rabbi. Tragically the Rabbi was shot in the hand and he gave a sermon telling everyone to stay strong. When the Rabbi was being wheeled into surgery, he said, “Let everyone know Lori Kaye saved me.”
The horror continues, the other victims suffering injuries include a 8-year-old girl, Noya Dahan. She asked for her picture to be shared and for everyone to know she’s strong. The other victim shot in the leg was Almog Peretz, age 32, Noya’s uncle who came from Sderot, Israel to visit his family for the Passover holiday. He was a hero – when he heard the first shots, he gathered the children and lead them to safety. During the shooting, a brave off-duty border patrol agent, who was working as private security for the synagogue, fired at the shooter and chased him. Other members of the synagogue, who carried licensed concealed weapons, also went after him.  Miraculously the killers’ gun jammed and he ran off. The heroes and G-d hand prevented the killer from claiming more lives. Fortunately the murderer was caught and is in custody. Thank you to our law enforcement for your support!
Here’s the insane irony, Noya’s family moved to San Diego from the Israeli city of Sderot (San Diego’s sister city) to get away from the terrorism and the constant attacks on their community.  The peaceful city in Israel they’re from is in the Negev and is less than a mile from the Gaza border. For years their home has been a major target of Qassam rocket attacks from terrorists in the Gaza Strip. They moved to San Diego and had swastikas painted on their home.
Anti-Semitism is real and is deadly. Hate crimes are real and are deadly. Lori would have wanted all of us to stand up to hate. She was a warrior of love and she will be missed. May Lori’s memory be a blessing. Please to honor Lori, do an act of kindness today with her in mind.
Please pray for recovery of the Rabbi Goldstein, Almog and Noya.
Please share this! Lori’s family wants this to be a huge funeral to honor her and to stand against Anti-Semitism. The funeral service will be Monday, May 29 at 2 p.m. at Chabad of Poway and then the short graveside service will be at 4 p.m. at El Camino Memorial Park at 5600 Carroll Canyon Rd. San Diego, CA 92121.

This post was originally published on Facebook April 17 and is featured here with her permission. It has since been updated with new information from the author. 

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