Esther Galia

Nov 18, 2002 - Esther Galia, 48, of Kochav Hashahar, the mother of seven children, was shot and mortally wounded by a terrorist who fired nine bullets into her car as she drove home from work in Jerusalem. She was rushed to the hospital, but died from her wounds on the operating table.

The terrorist fled in a waiting car.

Galia, an economist, worked in the banks supervisory department of the Bank of Israel. She traveled the road to and from the capital every day as a matter of routine. "Esther never expressed fear about riding to work," said a friend at the settlement. Until a few months ago, an IDF roadblock had been positioned near the scene of the attack, near the Rimonim junction east of Ramallah.

"We are all still shocked," said neighbor Haya Meir. "For the past two years, we were aware of the numerous shooting attacks, but it never affected the community directly until today. Etty is the first victim."

Esther and her husband, Alexander, were among the founders of Kochav Hashahar 22 years ago; today the settlement numbers some 200 families.

"She was an exemplary woman and mother, sober and rational, who lived her life modestly," said Meir. "She was a special woman, a scholar, very well educated, full of faith and vision and abundant trust in God. All those years she traveled without fear, saying that whatever would happen would happen; that the Holy One, blessed be He, would give us strength.

Esther Galia is survived by her husband, Alexander, and seven children aged 23 to 10. She was buried in the Kochav Hashahar Cemetery.