The close-knit community of Efrat was in shock Sunday as thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral of sisters Rina and Maia Dee. Local residents lined the streets near the family home, waving Israeli flags and radiating love and support as the family made their way to the 5:00 p.m. funeral in Kfar Etzion.
By 4:15 p.m., the funeral home was completely full and thousands of additional mourners packed the plaza area and the entire field behind. More than 2,200 people watched the funeral live on YouTube.
The young adult Dee sisters were murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack while on a family outing celebrating the Passover holiday. The shooting attack occurred this past Friday in the Jordan Valley as the car, driven by their mother, Lucy Dee, was first rammed off the road and then shot into.
After emergency surgery Friday afternoon, Lucy Dee remains in critical condition at Hadassah-University Medical Center, in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem, fighting for her life. Round-the-clock Psalms are being recited for her recovery – Leah bat Tzipora.
The family behind the tragedy
While waiting for the Dee family to enter, mourners spontaneously sang songs of faith and hope. The 90-minute funeral service opened with Psalms for the recovery of the girls’ mother.
An aerial view shows friends and family of Maia and Rina Dee, Israeli-British sisters killed in a shooting attack, as they attend their funerals at a cemetery in Kfar Etzion in the West Bank, April 9, 2023. (credit: ILAN ROSENBERG/REUTERS)Father and husband Rabbi Leo Dee spoke at length in English, his voice occasionally cracking but never breaking. He began by assuring the crowd that he felt certain he was speaking in his wife’s name as well.
Remarking on the support his family has received since the terror event on Friday, Dee marveled that, “when a simple family in Efrat is devastated, the whole country hurts.”
He said people asked him how he has such emunah (faith) in the face of his unspeakable loss. Dee shared something he learned from Rabbi Efrem Goldberg’s classes on emunah. “There is one main formula for emunah. Always focus on what you do have and not on what you don’t have. I still have three wonderful children – Keren, Tali and Yehuda and my wife Lucy.”
Dee’s English remarks were followed by each of the siblings, who spoke in Hebrew. Other speakers included one of Maia’s teachers, friends of Maia and Rina, and the family’s rabbi, Yair Binshtock.
Neighbor, friend and colleague Rena London told The Jerusalem Post about Lucy Dee. “I work with Lucy as an English teacher in Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Orot Yehuda [in Efrat]. She is always full of energy and creative ideas to help the students. She is a devoted and dedicated teacher who has helped her students immensely and never gives up on them. She always helps defuse stressful situations by being calm and helpful.
“She loves talking about her children and the whole staff feels like they know them through her stories,” she said.
“During [the Priestly Blessing] at shul, it is customary for a father to take his sons under his tallit,” London said. “Lucy would take her four girls in for a hug during the blessing. She is such a loving mother.”
Rebbetzin Nechama Davis from London, now living in Efrat, and her husband Rabbi Baruch Davis told the Post that they “first met Lucy and Leo when they returned [to the UK after] having made aliyah as an idealistic young couple. [Leo] became the rabbi, [Lucy] became the rebbetzin and they really threw themselves into it,” she said.
“Lucy has made an enormous impact [in Efrat], [and] not only because she’s an English teacher. She really has touched the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people here. Lucy is charming, sweet, kind, forceful, proactive and all these things have endeared her enormously to people. She is just such a force for goodness.”
Rebbetzin Davis described the Dees as having, “a very special relationship, incredibly caring and loving and supportive to each other.”
Rabbi Davis noted that “[Rabbi] Leo and Lucy gave of themselves in London for six years – sincerity, commitment and friendship – [but] they never lost their commitment to return to Eretz Yisrael. In early 2014, [it became clear that] the time [to return to Israel] had come.”
Leo, Lucy and their five children returned to Israel from the UK in August 2014. The family members are dual Israel-UK citizens.
Rabbi Davis said that the Dees “are great connectors and connected us to many people when we arrived [on aliyah to Efrat from London]. Leo and I walk together every Sunday. It’s a time for sharing our lives and beliefs.
“Leo speaks with pride of his children and their achievements and aspirations. [He also] brings men together [before every holiday] to share Torah and be inspired.” Rabbi Davis identified Leo’s core values as a strong belief in duty to God and the study of the Torah of Israel with simple faith.
On Saturday night, an estimated 300 youth from Efrat gathered together in the plaza of the local mall to sing, cry, and console and strengthen one another. Social services and grief counselors circulated and counseled them as they began processing the unbearable loss and pain.
Simultaneously, the rabbinic leadership of Efrat initiated an evening of prayer and Psalms to strengthen the residents of the community. The gathering, held at the Zayit Ra’anan Synagogue where the Dees attend, was packed. More than 500 community members attended in person and another 100+ online.
“Every available space [was occupied] and not everyone could get in. Men filled the shul and women filled the [study hall] and spoke very movingly about Lucy and her daughters,” Rabbi Davis reported.
“The Efrat community is heartbroken by the tragedy that has befallen the Dee family. We have lost two cherished daughters of the Efrat family. This is the time to lend support to one another, strengthen those who are struggling and use enhanced sensitivity to help each other navigate this awful tragedy.”
Oded Revivi
Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi said that “The Efrat community is heartbroken by the tragedy that has befallen the Dee family. We have lost two cherished daughters of the Efrat family. This is the time to lend support to one another, strengthen those who are struggling and use enhanced sensitivity to help each other navigate this awful tragedy.”
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